ASHOK BHUSHAN, J. - (1.)ALL these writ petitions raise similar questions and have been heard together.
(2.)BY these writ petitions, the advertisement dated 1st February, 2005 issued by the Additional Managing Director, Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation advertising 1500 posts of conductor for being filled up has been challenged. In Writ Petition No. 16154 of 2005 counter and supplementary counter -affidavits, rejoinder and supplementary rejoinder affidavits have been exchanged, in some other writ petitions also counter and rejoinder affidavits have been exchanged. Writ Petition No. 16154 of 2005 is being treated as leading writ petition and it is sufficient to refer the pleadings in the aforesaid writ petition for deciding the controversy raised in all these writ petitions.
The petitioners in the above mentioned writ petitions are in two categories. The first category of petitioners are those petitioners who were imparted apprenticeship training under the Apprenticeship Act, 1961 by Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation and were given the apprentice certificate and thereafter in the year 1998 they were engaged as contract conductor on the terms and conditions of the contract and had been discharging their duties on contract basis with the Corporation. The second category of the petitioners are those petitioners who were not imparted apprenticeship training by the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation but who have been engaged on contract basis as conductor in the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation. Both the categories of the petitioners have thus rendered services on contract basis on the post of conductor in the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation.

(3.)REGULATIONS have been framed, namely, Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation Employees (Other Than Officers) Service Regulations, 1981 regulating the recruitment to various posts in the Corporation.