At the relevant point in time, all the petitioners, who are law graduates, were posted as Legal Inspector under Respondent No. 3 – South Eastern Coalfields Limited. A notification was issued on 01.04.2010 by Respondent No. 3 - SECL for selection/promotion from non-executive to executive cadre through limited competitive examination in various disciplines. The entire procedure was prescribed in the notification itself. According to clause No. 5 of the said notification, eligible candidates were required to appear in the written examination of multiple choice questions consisting of two papers of 100 marks each i.e. Paper-I – for General awareness/aptitude and Paper-II – for Technical/professional knowledge of the relevant subject as per approved syllabus. The qualified candidates were called for interview in a ratio of 1:3. The criteria for promotion was law graduates with experience of three years in technical and supervisory GradeA. The written examination was conducted on 14.08.2011 and the petitioners as well as other eligible candidates participated in the said examination and, thereafter, on 24.12.2011 result of the written examination was declared by the respondent authorities. The petitioners did not find their names in the said list. Other selected candidates were called for the interview on 24.01.2012 and after due selection process, the appointment orders were issued on 19.09.2012. The petitioners, being aggrieved and dissatisfied with the manner in which the written examination was conducted and results were declared, filed these petitions challenging therein the selection process as well as the final select list.
