JUDGMENT:

Lokeshwar Singh Panta, J.

1. These appeals, by special leave, filed by Haryana State Minor Irrigation Tubewells Corporation & Others are directed against the common judgment dated August 22, 2001 passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana in Letters Patent Appeal No. 725/1993 and Civil Writ Petition No. 5946/1994 and Civil Writ Petition No. 834/1996.

2. By the impugned judgment, the Division Bench of the High Court dismissed the Letters Patent Appeal filed by the appellants against the judgment and order dated May, 18, 1993 of the learned Single Judge passed in C.W.P. No.14200/1993 and allowed C.W.P. No. 5946/1994 filed by Chakrawarti Garg and C.W.P. No. 834/1996 of A.S. Dhir,

respondents herein.

3. These appeals are similar in nature and they involve identical questions of law and facts and, therefore, they are being decided by this common judgment.

4. The facts giving rise to the filing of these appeals are that the respondents in Civil Appeal Nos. 9244/2003 and 9248/ 2003, at the time of filing of the writ petitions, were working on the post of Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), Sub-Divisional Engineer (SDE) and Assistant Engineer (AE) with the Haryana