- (1.) An advertisement was issued by the orissa public service commission inviting applications from intending candidates for appointment to some Junior Teaching posts. These posts were in the orissa Medical Education Service, to which the recruitment is governed by the orissa Medical Education Service (Recruitment) Rules, 1979. The relevant rule therein for the present purpose is Rule 4, as under: "4.Appointment of Junior Teacher. (1 Appointment to junior teaching posts in the service shall be made by selection from amongst the Assistant Surgeons under the State government or State government Undertakings with at least one year's experience as such through the public service commission which shall invite applications and process them: Provided that the recruitment may also be made from amongst the junior teachers for the junior teaching posts, in any other speciality or higher speciality subject to the condition that seniority in the new speciality or higher speciality, as the case may be, shall be determined from the date of appointment in the new discipline in accordance with the placement given by the Commission and accepted by the government. (2 No person shall be eligible to be appointed as a Junior Teacher unless he has acquired a post-graduate degree in the concerned speciality or any other equivalent degree or qualification prescribed by the council. (3 In selection of candidates, Commission shall give due regard to the candidate's academic attainments, experience, aptitude and ability to teach. (4 If candidates with the prescribed qualifications are not available or appointment cannot be made in the manner prescribed in sub-rule (1, appointments may be made by direct recruitment through the Commission, if necessary, in relaxation of the prescribed qualifications. "
(2.) The advertisement was in terms of Rule 4.
(3.) In the posts so advertised, there were 10 posts in Category II in the discipline of Dentistry, out of which 5 were for the general candidates, the remaining 5 being reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The dispute in the present case relates only to the placement in order of merit, of the candidates belonging to the general category selected as a result of the aboveadvertisement. The appellants, Dr Jayanta Kumar Dash and Dr Indu Bhusan Kar, and Respondents 3, 4 and 5, namely, Dr Ramesh Chandra Das, Dr (Miss) Maunabati Mohapatra and Dr Saroj Kumar Sahu, were selected to these 5 posts in the general category. In the select list prepared by the orissa public service commission, the name of Dr Ramesh Chandra Das was not placed at Serial No. 1. Aggrieved by his placement below some of the other selected candidates, by the public service commission, Respondent 3, Ramesh Chandra Das challenged the same before the orissa Administrative tribunal. By the impugned order dated 21/01/1987, the tribunal has upheld the claim of Dr Ramesh Chandra Das that he was entitled to be placed at the top of the select list, notwithstanding his lower placement in the select list prepared by the orissa public service commission. Aggrieved by this decision of the tribunal, the appellants, who were shown above Dr Ramesh Chandra Das in the select list prepared by the public service commission, have preferred this appeal by special leave.;