issuing notice, this Court vide order dated 24.04.2023 directed the maintenance of status quo which has persisted till date. As per the most recent status report by the State, nearly 9,187 posts of Junior Engineers remain vacant, drastically affecting the day-to-day functioning of the State. As retirements are ongoing, the working strength is continuously decreasing and is currently at 11.7%. In recognition of the peculiar facts and circumstances of this case, Mr. Patwalia has fairly stated before this Court that the State will abide by any appropriate direction given by the Court. 20. We have heard Learned Counsel for the parties and perused the record. 21. As evidenced above, the present case has a chequered history. Before the Advertisement was released, an amendment was brought to the Rules in 2017, more particularly to Rule 9, which restricted the eligibility criteria only to those candidates who possessed a Diploma from an institute approved by the AICTE. This amendment was