JUDGMENT The petitioner has preferred this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution with a view to get an order Annexure R/l passed on 23rd of September, 1978 and set aside. The brief facts out of which this petition arises are: The petitioner was working as an Assistant Accountant with an insurance company by the name Ruby General Insurance Co. This company came to be merged with National Insurance Co. Ltd., and on this merger, the various employees working with the erstwhile company had to be categorised. The petitioner was categorised as an Assistant in the Accounts Department. His grievance was that he had been wrongly categorised and that he had been representing to the authorities in this regard. This representation in the form of appeal, as noticed above, was decided on 23rd of September, 1978. This reads as under:- "Your appeal datecl13th February, 1970 was considered carefully and I regret to inform you that the concerned Committee of the Board of Directors of this Company was of the view that there was no ground for revision of your initial categorisation." This order is sought to be challenged. In view of the law laid down by the Supreme Court of India in State of M.P. v. Bhailal Bhai AIR 1964 SC 1006 , the normal period at the most for filing a writ petition is three years i.e. the period as available to a litigant for filing a civil suit. In this case, the petition was filed after twelve years of the decision of the appeal. The plea that repeated representations had been filed by the petitioner, does not furnish a fresh cause of action. This view was expressed in State of Orissa v. Samantaray, AIR 1976 SC 2617 . In this view of the matter, this petition is without any merit and is dismissed on the ground of delay and laches.