- (1.) Application for impleadment/intervention is allowed.
(2.) We need not go in details of the matter. These are appeals against the High Court to the claim of the appellants herein nine in number who applied for the posts of direct District Judges and were not considered for the posts on the ground that they were holding the Government posts and they had also not put in seven years of practice as an Advocate. The appellants challenged this and the High Court has repelled the challenge taking the view that the appellants were the Government servants holding regular posts of Assistant Public Prosecutors and Public Prosecutors etc. and they were on the regular panel on the Government and were also members of the regular cadre. The High Court formulated two points. They are as under: "1. Whether the Petitioners 1 to 9 were practising advocates on the date of the submission of their applications to the first Respondent and as such were eligible to be considered for appointment as District Judges in terms of the qualification prescribed under Schedule given to Rule 2 of the Rules 2. Whether the qualification prescribed in Schedule given to Rule 2 of the Rules that an applicant "must be practising on the last date fixed for submission of application, as an Advocate and must have so practised for not less than seven years as on such date" is liable to be struck down either on the ground that it runs counter to the provisions contained in Sub-Clause 2 of Article 233 of Article 14 of the Constitution of India -
(3.) On the first question the High Court came to the conclusion that the appellants were not practising Advocates on the date of submission of their applications as was required by the advertisement. The High Court also came to the conclusion that the appellants had not completed seven years of practice as "Advocate". After considering the concerned Rules as also the provisions of Article 233(2), we have no hesitation in holding that since the appellants were members of the regular Government service having been regularly employed under the State Government Rules called "Karnataka Department of Prosecution and Government Litigation Recruitments Rules, 1962" they could not be said to be the Advocates while serving as Assistant Public Prosecutors or Public Prosecutors.;