BHANWAR SINGH, J. - (1.) ALL these petitions having common facts and law are taken together for decision.
(2.) ALL the petitioners have filed these petitions for a writ in the nature of Mandamus commanding the opposite-parties of the Forest Department and U.P. Forest Corporation (hereinafter to be known as 'Corporation') to reinstate the petitioners in service with all consequential benefits and allow them, in the meantime, to continue in service. A prayer for another writ in the nature of Certiorari for quashing the notices/Retrenchment Orders and the Circular dated 7.2.1995, contained in Annexure 21 to 31 (Writ Petition No. 880 (SS) of 1995) and similar other orders and notices has been made.
(3.) IN brief, the facts giving rise to these petitions, may be stated as below : - The petitioners were initially engaged in the Corporation in the years 1982 and 1983. Whereas some of the petitioners were called as Sealer, a few were known as Field Assistants. However, subsequently, even the Field Assistants were placed as Sealers with effect from different dates as recited in the petitions. According to the Circular dated 30.8.1979 issued by the Chairman and Managing Director of the Corporation, the names for recruitment of the Labourers on Daily Labour basis (hereinafter to be known as 'DL basis') were to be solicited from the Employment Exchange and the selection had to be made on the basis of a written test. Then, a select list in the order of merit was to be prepared. Although such list should have been termed to be as ''merit list, but it was wrongly called as 'seniority list', the Circular also stipulated that the employees would be engaged in order of preference according to the seniority list. Besides that, a clear ban was inflicted on the direct recruitment of the pay bill Sealer, (i.e., regular appointment) and it was provided that on completion of two years' satisfactory service, D.L. Sealers will be placed on pay bill. The similar procedure of the circular was later adopted in the Regulation 16 of the U.P. Forest Service Regulations as notified vide G.O. No. 606/14.4.87-819/83, dated 25.2.1987 with effect from 1.2.1985 (hereinafter referred to be as 'Regulations') for the purposes of engagement of Group employees including Sealers. All the petitioners passed the requisite test conducted by the Corporation for being placed on pay bill. However, when they were not placed on pay bill despite their long length of service, they were obliged to file writ petitions. Some of the petitioners then were appointed as Sealers in pursuance of the interim orders issued by the Court. Though it was clearly mentioned in the appointment and posting orders of the petitioners that the same would be subject to further orders of this Court that might be passed in the writ petitions filed by the petitioners, yet surprisingly the authorities of the Forest Department without seeking modification of the interim orders issued orders of reversion degrading them from pay bill to D.L. basis and this exercise was done in the camouflage of cancellation of earlier appointment and posting orders perhaps under the pretext of changing norms. The reversion orders as well as the modification norms were challenged by some of the petitioners in several writ petitions, viz., Writ Petitions No. 537, 538, 852, 899 and 189/- all of 1993 (SS). The High Court intervened and directed the opposite-parties to retain the petitioners in service and pay them the same salary regularly which they were getting before the orders of reversion were issued. In compliance to the Court's Orders, the petitioners were paid their salary in the old pay-scale of Rs. 320-460/- (unrevised). Although the petitioners were entitled to draw the intermediary difference of the salary payable against the pay bill and on the D.L. basis, yet their demand was not carried out. In the meantime, a bunch of writ petitions was decided by this Court and the authorities were asked to bring the petitioners on pay bill from D.L. basis. In spite of this judgment and the fact that the petitioners had already cleared the requisite test for being appointed on pay bill, the concerned authorities kept mum, their representations too did not fetch them any result.;