As Nearly As Possible

As nearly as possible, the expression 'as nearly as may be' itself suggests that the proportion of 50% of the service members is not exact but approximate and is meant not to be mandatory but directory. The said proviso does not, in terms, say that in no case and at no point of time, the said proportion should either go above, or fall below 50%. In the very nature of things, a strict adherence to the said direction is not practicable at any particular point of time, Jai Shankar Prasad v. State of Bihar, AIR 1993 SC 1906 (1910): (1993) 2 SCC 597. [Constitution of India, Art. 316 (1) Proviso]