JUDGMENT

Delay condoned.

2. Leave granted in SLP (C) 345/99.

3. In these batch of appeals, the Union of India and the concerned Department are the appellants. The appeals raise common points. For the sake of convenience we shall take up Civil Appeal Nos. 4247-49/1998, which are the appeals against the judgment dated 8th March, 1995, of the Central Administrative Tribunal, Bangalore Bench, in O.A. Nos. 1981/1994 and 1981-82 of 1994. Earlier to this, the said Tribunal rendered a Judgment in O.A. No. 156 of 1992 on 26th March, 1993, taking the same view. The Tribunal had held that Technicians appointed prior to 1.1.1986 would also be entitled to the benefits of the orders passed in terms of the O.M. dated 22.10.1990, as modified in the subsequent orders dated 31.3.1992. In essence, the Tribunal held that for purpose of drawing increments, the Technicians whose period of training was one year, should be on bar with the non-technical persons, whose training period was only three months, so that both the technicians and non-technicians would be drawing the same increment at the same intervals, if they were appointed on the same date.

4. As per the Government O.M. dated 22.10.90 this benefit