Beg, J. - (1.) The five appeals before us - one by the Union of India and four by the State and the Chief Secretary to the Government of Uttar Pradesh - are directed against a common judgment given by Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court, on two Writ Petitions, one by M. L. Capoor and the other by K. N. Mishra, and two special appeals, one by Ganesh Singh Seth and the other by Basant Kumar Joshi. As all the cases, resting upon similar facts, raised common questions of law they were heard together and disposed of by a common judgment which has come up before us on grant of certificates of fitness of the cases by Allahabad High Court under Article 133 (1) (c) of the Constitution of India for appeal to this Court.
(2.) M. L. Capoor and K. N. Misra have been members of the U. P. State Police Service who were brought on a select list for promotion to the Indian Police Service in 1961 and 1962 since when they officiated on cadre posts of the Indian Police Service as Superintendents of Police for a number of years. They were eligible to be considered for promotion under Regulation 4 of Indian Police Service (Appointment by Promotion) Regulations, 1955, and came on the select list through the procedure for selection by a Select Committee confirmed by the Union Public Service Commission, and, finally approved by the State Government. The whole procedure is set out in Regulations 4 to 7 of the Indian Police Service (Appointment by Promotion) Regulations, 1955, under which the select lists are to be revised and revieved every year. Both M. L. Capoor and K. N. Misra continued on the select list until the list for 1968 was prepared in December, 1967, when they were suddenly dropped from this list Consequently, they filed petitions under Art. 226 of the Constitution in the Allahabad High Court for quashing orders of alleged reversion. These Writ Petitions were referred to a Division. Bench which decided them with the special appeals of Ganesh Singh Seth and Basant Kumar Joshi involving the same questions of law on similar facts.
(3.) Ganesh Singh Seth and Basant Kumar Joshi have been members of the U. P. Civil (Executive) Service. They were brought on the select list of the Indian Administrative Service in 1961 and 1962, under Regulations 4 to 7 of the Indian Administrative Service (Appointment by Promotion) Regulations, 1955. These two officers, who had officiated as District Magistrates for a number of years, had also been dropped from the select list for 1968 prepared in December 1967, after having continued in that list since 1961 and 1962. They had filed Writ Petitions against their alleged reversions which were dismissed by a learned Judge of the Allahabad High Court on 23-5-1968. Their special appeals were heard by a Division Bench with Writ Petitions of M. L. Capoor and K. N. Misra, because, as already observed, common questions of law were involved. These appeals were allowed by the common judgment now under appeal before us.;