Judgment

RANGANATH MISRA, J.:- The petitioner in each of these applications under Art. 32 of the Constitution is a workman engaged on terms of casual labour for periods varying between 10 and 16 years in the Construction Department of the Signal Unit in the Northern Railway. All the writ petitions having been disposed of by a common judgment as quesions of law and fact involved therein are similar.

2. The petitioners alleged that notwithstanding the fact that each of them has put in continuous service for quite a long period, the Railway Administration, respondent herein, has not treated them as temporary servants and has applied discriminatory rates of wages. They have asked for a direction to treat the petitioners at par with maintenance workers and to declare that they are entitled to equal pay for equal work and have asked for their absorption in the regular cadre in the permanent category as per the circulars issued by the respondents. A number of documents and circulars issued by the Administration have been produced in support of their claim.

3. The Senior Signal & Telecom Engineer (Power Signalling) has filed a counter-affidavit on behalf of the respondents challenging the cla