1. These petitions are heard and disposed of together, in view of the issue raised being the same.

2. The brief facts are as follows:

The petitioners were erstwhile employees of the respondent – Bank and had retired from the service of the bank under a Special Voluntary Retirement Scheme during the year 2003. Thereafter, salary revision was effected for officer employees of the Bank with retrospective effect from 1st November 2002. While paying the revised salary and pensionary benefits to the petitioner, the payment of differential ex-gratia was denied. The present petitions, therefore, are in respect of the same.

3. The learned Senior Advocate Shri P.S. Rajagopal appearing for the counsel for the petitioners in two of the petitions, would contend that the petitioners were officer employees of the Bank. Their service conditions were governed by the Corporation Bank (Officers) Service Regulations, 1982 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Service Regulations’ for brevity) and the Corporation Bank (Employees’) Pension Regulations, 1995 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Pension Regulations’ for brevity). He would point out that the word ‘salary’ is defined under Regulation 3