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 State Minor Irrigation Tubewells Corporation Ltd. (for short 'the Corporation') appellant No. 1, which is a Government

company, within the meaning of that expression under the Companies Act, 1956. The respondent in C.A. No. 9239/2003 was working as Law Officer with the Corporation. State of Haryana exercises deep and pervasive control over the Corporation. Secretary, Irrigation Department; Secretary, Agricultural Department; Secretary, Finance Department, to the Government of Haryana; Chairman, Haryana State Electricity Board and Chief Engineer (Canals), Irrigation Works, Haryana, were the exclusive shareholders in the Corporation at the time of its formation in the year 1970. The Corporation was carved out of the Irrigation Wing of the Public Works Department and since its inception in the year 1970, a number of officers have been appointed to different posts by way of deputation. There were about 27 SDOs on deputation from the Irrigation Department working in Corporation whose nature of duties and responsibilities were similar and identical to the nature and duties of the SDOs working in the equivalent post of Corporation. Their duties were inter-changeable and as such it was the case of the respondents before the High Court that there was no difference whatsoever between the duties and responsibilities expected to be shouldered by a deputationist and by an employee of the Corporation. The respondents pleaded before the High Court that there was no qualitative difference between the duties and responsibilities of persons employed on the posts of SDOs, SDEs, AEs in various departments of Haryana Government, such as Public Works Department (Buildings and Roads), Public Health Departments, various Corporations, Haryana State Electricity Board, Haryana Urban Development Authority and several other Boards. Rule 5.1 of Part V of the Service Bye-Laws of the Corporation reads as under:-

"1) Each post in the Corporation will carry a time scale of pay, the present pay scale being indicated in Appendix II.

2) The pay scale is subject to revision by the Board, which will, however, generally follow the pattern adopted by the Government of Haryana from time to time."

5. The Corporation ever since its inception in the year 1970 has been following the pay scales of the employees of the Haryana Government as revised from time to time in respect of all categories of its employees. As noticed earlier, initially, when the Corporation was formed, almost the entire Engineering staff right from the rank of Chief Engineer to the rank of AEs/SDOs/SDEs was taken on deputation from the Irrigation Department of the State Government till the Corporation recruited its own cadre of AEs. Qualifications and experience for recruitment and promotion to the ranks of AEs, SDOs, Executi