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While examining this question it is necessary to compare the procedure followed in regard to direct recruitment to the cadre of Deputy Collectors. As we have already pointed out above, the Rules of 30th July, 1959 provided that 50% of the vacancies in the cadre of Deputy Collectors shall be filled by Direct recruitment. Since the cadre of Deputy Collectors was a State cadre, 50% of the vacancies to be filled by direct recruitment were determined on the basis of vacancies in the cadre for the State as a whole and not for any particular division of the State. The direct recruitment was made on a Statewide basis without any attempt to see that there was divisionwise representation. But in regard to promotion by which the other 50% of the vacancies in the cadre of Deputy Collectors were to be filled, the State Government adopted a wholly different procedure. Though a common seniority list ,of all the mamlatdars in the State, irrespective of the divisions to which they belonged, could be prepared without any difficulty on the basis of the Rules of 1957 for the allocated Mamlatdars/Tehsildars and for the ,subsequent appointees, on the principle of continuous officiation upto 29th July, 1063 and thereafter according to the rule laid down in Government Resolution dated 29th July, 1963 and a common Statewide select list could also be made of Mamlatdars found fit for promotion as Deputy Collectors and promotion to the cadre of Deputy Collectors could be made on the basis of such Statewide select list, the State Government did not choose to follow this method and instead made promotions to the cadre of Deputy Collectors which was a State cadre on the basis of division select lists. The procedure followed by-the State Government for making promotions was as follows : The Review Committee prepared every year for each division a separate divisional select list of those Mamlatdars who were found fit for promotion as Deputy Collectors. Where Mamlatdars were brought on the divisional select list at the same time, their names were ordinarily arranged according to their seniority in the divisional cadre but in case of Mamlatdar ,of outstanding merit, a higher rank might be given to win in the divisional select list than that warranted by his seniority. Subject to this provision, the seniority of Mamlatdarsin the Divisional select list was determined by the date of their entry in the list. When a vacancy arose in the post of Deputy Collector in a division and it was likely to last for three months or more, the Mamlatdar whose name was highest in the Divisional select list and who was not already officiating, 'was promoted as officiating Deputy Collector in the vacant post 'De name of such Mamlatdar, though promoted as officiating Deputy Col- lector, however, continued in the, divisional select list until he was confirmed in the cadre of Deputy Collectors or retired from service whichever happened earlier. Now, the ranking in the divisional select list did not remain constant. There wag periodical review of the work of the officiating Deputy Collectors and on such review, the ranking in the divisional select list was adjusted so as to reflect the assessment of the relative merits of the officiating Deputy Collectors e.g. an officiating Deputy Collector who had a better record of service might be placed higher than another with less meritorious record and so on and so forth in descending order of merit. The promotions as officiating Deputy Collector were thus made for each division separately, on the basis of its divisional select list in which the ranking kept on changing periodically as a result of review and assessment. Then for the purpose or confirmation in the, cadre of Deputy Collectors, a combined seniority list of officiating Deputy Collectors from all divisions was prepared. procedure followed for the purpose of preparing combined seniority list was as follows in the first place "deemed"' dates of continuous officiation were given to the officiating Deputy Collectors from each division with a view to ensuring that their inter se ranking in the divisional select list was not affected by the fact that an officer lower in rank in the divisional select list might have been officiating as Deputy Collector for a longer period than another in higher rank. This was done by providing that-the officer who was highest in the rank in the divisional select list should be given the date of continuous officiation of the officer who had the longest period of officiation as Deputy Collector and the officer next to him in rank should be given the date of continuous officiation of the officer who had officiated next longest as Deputy Collector and so on till the dates of continuous officiation of all officers were adjusted so as to reflect their inter se seniority in the divisional select list. Thus, if A, B and C were officiating Deputy Collectors in a division having 1st January, 1960, 1st July, 1960 and 1st January, 1961 respectively as their dates of continuous officiation and in the divisional select list their ranking was first C, second B and last A, their deemed dates of continuous officiation would be 1st January, 1960 for C, 1st July, 1960 for B and 1st January, 1961 for A. Then on the basis of the deemed dates of continuous officiation given to the officiating Deputy Collectors in each division, a combined State-wise seniority list of officiating Deputy Collectors was prepared and confirmations in the cadre of Deputy Collectors were made in accordance with the seniority in such combined State-wise seniority list. This was the procedure followed by the State Government and it hag to meet the challenge of Art. 16 of the Constitution. Now, it is clear that this procedure suffers from a, serious infirmity in that it provides for promotions to the State cadre of Deputy Collectors to-be made on the basis of divisional select lists. That clearly amounts to denial of equality of opportunity to Mamlatdars in the State in the matter of promotion to the cadre of Deputy Collectors. If a mamlatdar aspires to be promoted to the cadre of Deputy Collectors which is the next higher cadre of promotion for him, he has to be promoted first as officiating Deputy Collector. It is only after he is pro- moted as officiating Deputy Collector that he can become eligible to be confirmed in the cadre of Deputy Collectors. But, in order to be promoted as officiating Deputy Collector, he has to wait until a vacancy occurs in the post of Deputy Collector in his division. Even if he is senior to a Mamlatdar in-another division and more suitable, he cannot be promoted to officiate in a vacancy which arises, in the other division. His opportunity for promotion is limited to a vacancy in his own division. The consequence is that if a vacancy in the post of Deputy Collector arises earlier in one division, a Mamlatdar in the select list of that division, would get promoted as officiating Deputy Collector earlier than a Mamlatdar 'in another division where a vacancy in the post of Deputy Collector arises later and, subject to the operation of the rule of deemed dates of continuous officiation, that would mean that the former would gain entry in the cadre of )Deputy Collector earlier than the latter, even though the former may be junior and less suitable than the latter. The entry in the cadre of Deputy Collectors is thus made to depend not on the assessment of the relative merits of a Mamlatdar vis a vis the other Mamlatdars in the State, but on the fortuitous circumstances as to when a vacancy in the post of Deputy Collector arises in the division to which the Mamlatdar belongs. This is clearly violative of the equal opportunity clause because it is wholly unrelated to the object and purpose of promotion which is to secure an efficient cadre of Deputy Collectors and in fact negates it. It must be remembered that the cadre of Deputy Collectors is a State cadre and for promotion to such State cadre every Mamlatdar must have equal opportunity to be considered. Where promotion is made by selection on the basis of merit-cum- seniority, every Mamlatdar should be able to enter the lists; he should have equal opportunity with others for being considered for promotion. There must be one common door for entry into the cadre of Deputy Collectors through which every Mamlatdar should be equally entitled to enter, 'provided he is selected on the application of the principle of merit-cum-seniority. There cannot be six doors of entry, one door available exclusively for the Mamlatdars of each division. That is bound to create inequality of opportunity in the matter of promotion. It is true that confirmations in the cadre of Deputy Collectors are made on the basis of combined seniority list of officiating Deputy Collectors, but that does not cure the infirmity in the mode of promotion. The allotment of deemed dates of continuous officiation cannot help retrive those who have had no opportunity to be promoted as officiating Deputy Collectors, not on account of want of higher seniority or better merit, but purely on account of lack of adequate number of vacancies in the post of Deputy Collector arising in their division. Moreover, since the Officiating Deputy Collectors are still substantively Mamlatdars and it is in virtue of their being Mamlatdars that they are eligible to be promoted to the cadre of Deputy Collectors by confirmation, the com- bined seniority list of officiating Deputy Collectors is in truth and reality nothing but a combined select list of Mamlatdars prepared by unalgamating the divisional select lists. The amalgamation of, the livisional select lists is not made on a comparative assessment of the elative Merits of the Mamlatdars in the divisional Select lists as to produce, a combined seniority list based on merit-cum-seniority, but it proceeds on the basis of deemed dates of continuous officiation is Deputy Collectors given to Mamlatdars in their respective divisional select lists. The giving of deemed dates of continuous officiation no doubt reflects the relative merits of the Mamlatdars in each,division taken as a separate unit, but it does not seek to adjust the seniority of the approved Mamlatdars in all the divisions taken as a whole on the basis of assessment of their relative merits. It does not, therefore, eliminate the inequality of treatment which inheres at the initial stage of promotion as officiating Deputy Collectors. The, vice of inequality of opportunity continues to inhibit promotions to the Cadre of Deputy Collectors. The procedure followed by the State Government in making promotions must, therefore, be held to be ,violative of Art. 16 of the Constitution. The respondents, however, relied very heavily 'on the decision of this Court in Ram Saran v. Deputy Inspector General of police(1) and contended that this decision gives approval to the mode of promotion adopted by the State Government in the present case. We do not think so. Read superficially it might appear that this decision supports the contention of the respondents, but if we scrutinise It closely, it would be apparent that not only it does not render any assistance to the respondents but actually goes against them. To understand the true ratio of this decision it is necessary to notice the facts in some detail. The police force in the State of Rajasthan was constituted under Police Act, 1861, and under s. 2 of the Act it was deemed to be one police force for the whole state under the control and supervision of the- inspector General of Police. The entire area of the State was, for administrative convenience, divided into four ranges each under the charge of a Deputy Inspector General of Police Each range comprised various district organisations under Superintendents of Police. The initial recruitment to the police force was in the rank of constable and that Was done within the district by the Superintendent of Police. The cadre of constables was a district cadre' The promotion from the cadre of constables to the next higher cadre of head constables was made within the district by the Superintendent of Police on the basis of district wise select list of approved constables. The cadre of Head Constables was also a district cadre. The further promotion from the cadre of Head Constables to the cadre of Sub--Inspectors was made within the range by the Deputy, Inspector General of Police and for this purpose all the Head Constables in the range were considered as one group for promotion to the rank of Sub-Inspectors and promotion was made on the basis of rangewise select list of approved Head Constables. Whenever a vacancy In the post of Sub-Inspector of Police arose in a range, the Deputy Inspector General of Police of that range would make promotion from the select list of his range according to seniority and conversely if reversion were (1) [1964] 7 S.C.R. 228.

It will be seen from this analysis of the reasoning of the decision in Ram Saran's case(1) that far from negativing the contention of the petitioners, it goes a long way towards supporting it. In Ram Saran's case(1) the cadre of Sub- Inspectors was a range cadre and promotion to that cadre in each range was made on the basis of select (1)[1964] 7 S.C.R. 228.

list of approved Head Constables from that particular range. This mode of promotion which confined promotional Head Constables to Sub-Inspectors within the range was upheld by this Court because it was calculated to make available the advantage of local knowledge in a post where such local knowledge would be useful in promoting the interest of administrative efficiency of the police force. But the basic feature underlying this mode, of promotion was, and that is vital to the understanding of the true ratio of this decision, that in respect of promotion to the range cadre of Sub-Inspectors all the Head Constables in the range were eligible for being considered and promotion to such range cadre was made on the basis of rangewise selection list prepared by taking into account the relative merits of all the Head Constables in the range. Every Head Constable in the range had, therefore, equal opportunity of promotion to the range cadre of Sub-Inspectors. Here in the present case, however, as we have. already pointed out above, the procedure adopted by the State Government provided for promotion to the State cadre of Deputy Collectors, not ,on the basis of States select list, but on the basis of divisions select lists of Mamlatdars. This is a very vital point on which the mode of promotion in the present case differed from that in Ram Saran's case(1). If the cadre of Deputy Collectors had been a divisional cadre, there would have been no objection in providing that the promotion to that cadre shall be divisionwise on the basis of divisional select lists. Then the analogy in Ram Saran's case(1) would have been complete. But here the cadre of Deputy Collectors was admittedly a State cadre and not a divisional cadre and divisionwise promotion to ,such cadre on the basis of divisional select lists could not, therefore, be justified on the ratio of the decision in Ram Saran's case(1). It may be noticed that in Rain Saran's case(1), in regard to promotion to the State cadre of Inspectors, the procedure followed was to have a Statewise select list of approved Sub-Inspectors from all over the State and to make promotion to the State cadre of Inspectors on the basis of such Statewise select list. The promotion to the State cadre of Inspectors was not made rangewise on the basis of separate select lists of Sub-Inspectors of each range. If that had been done, and upheld by this Court. the argument of the respondents would have been almost unassailable. But the promotion to the State cadre of Inspectors was on a Statewise basis. The ratio of the decision in Ram Saran's case() does not, therefore, support the contention that promotion to a State cadre can be made on the basis of divisional select lists. On the contrary. it suggests that if the cadre is a divisional cadre, there can be division- wise promotion on the basis of divisional select lists, but if it is a State cadre, promotion must be on Statewide basis so that every officer in the State has equal opportunity of promotion to the State cadre. Ram Saran's case(), therefore, impliedly supports the view which we have taken on a priori reasoning. The respondents faintly attempted to argue that in the present case there was an intermediate cadre of officiating Deputy Collectors between the cadre of Mamlatdars and the cadre of Deputy Collectors and promotion from the cadre of Mamlatdars lay to the cadre of officiating Deputy Collectors and it was from the cadre of officiating Deputy Collectors that one could obtain (1) [1964] 79.C.R. 229, 2 38' promotion to the cadre of Deputy Collectors. The cadre of officiating Deputy Collectors was a divisional cadre, and therefore,, promotion to it, was divisionwise on the basis of divisional select lists, while the cadre of Deputy Collectors was a state cadre and hence promotion to it was statewide on the basis of the combined seniority list of all officiating Deputy Collectors in the. State. This was ill accord with the pattern of promotion in Ram Saran Is case(1) and was, therefore, valid. This contention of the respondents is without force. The premise on which it is founded is incorrect. It is wholly contradicted the Rules of 30th July, 1959 which are admittedly statutory rules These Rules provide that appointment to 50% of the posts of Deputy Collectors shall be made by "promotion of suitable Mamlatdars" The promotion that is spoken of in these Rules is promotion from the cadre- of Mamlatdars to the cadre of Deputy collectors. These Rules completely negative the existence of any intermediate cadre of officiating Deputy Collectors. It is difficult to see how in the face' of these Rules which have statutory affect, it can ever be, contended that promotion to the cadre of Deputy Collectors was not from the cadre of Mamlatdars but from the so-called cadre of officiating Deputy Collectors. Of course it is true that a Mamlatdar cannot be promoted to the cadre of Deputy Collectors unless he has first officiated as Deputy Collector, but when he is promoted, it is from the cadre of Mamlatdars and not from any supposed cadre of officiating Deputy Collectors. In fact there is any legislative rule or executive order providing for the creation of such an intermediate I cadre of Officiating Deputy Collectors. We therefore, hold that the second proviso to Rule I of the Rules of 30th July, 1959 is void as being violative of Art. 16 of the Constitution. We also declare the Procedure for Promotion to the cadre of Deputy Collectors followed by the State Government to be invalid on the grand that it denies equality of opportunity of promotion ago is therefore hit by Art 16 of the Constitution. The Government Resolution dated 7th April 1961 must also. be quashed and set aside for the same reason. We direct the State Government to readjust the promotions as officiating Deputy Collectors as also the confirmed in the cadre, of Deputy Collectors in the light of the principles laid down in this judgment. The readjustment shall be made with retrospective effect and the petitioners shall be given the benefit of seniority pay and other allowances from the respective dates on which they would have been promoted, had the promotions been made on the cor- rect basis indicated in the judgment, subject to the qualification that so far as arrears of pay and other allowances are concerned, they May no+ be given for the period prior to the Ming of the petition. The first respondent will pay the costs of the petition to the petitioners.