Judgment :

Dr. Mukundakam Sharma, J.

1. Leave Granted in all the Special Leave Petitions.

2. The common question which arises for consideration in all these appeals is whether the orders passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of Karnataka, Bangalore in different Writ Petitions filed before it by the appellants herein dismissing the said Writ Petitions and upholding the directions given by the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal, Bangalore ("KAT" for short") to the appellants to consider the cases of the respondents for regularization of their service on merits are sustainable.

3. The facts which are necessary to answer the aforesaid question are being culled out here. The respondents in all these appeals were working on daily wages either as plantation watchmen or wireless operators or helpers. The respondents in all these appeals claimed regularization of their service in light of the fact that they had been in continuous service for more than ten years since the day of their initial appointment. The appellants, however, refuted their claim on the ground that the scheme of regularization pertained to only those persons who had been working prior to 01.07.1984.

4. The learned