As per case facts, petitioners challenged the final selection result for Assistant Lineman (ALM) posts, arguing that only candidates with the advertised ITI qualification should be considered, not those with ... higher qualifications like diploma or degree. The respondent, however, had adopted government instructions and followed past practice of considering higher qualifications in the same line, and this was uploaded on their website before the advertisement. Many selected candidates with higher qualifications have already joined service and completed their probation. The question arose whether higher qualifications in the same line should be considered eligible when the advertisement specified a minimum qualification. Finally, the High Court dismissed most petitions, affirming that candidates with higher qualifications in the same line cannot be excluded from consideration, especially given prior government instructions, public knowledge, and past judicial pronouncements. Disrupting settled appointments was also a factor. For specific cases, HSSC was directed to assess the equivalence of diplomas.