MOHIT KUMAR SHAH, J.:–Regard being had to the commonality of the issue involved in all the aforesaid four writ petitions, it was thought apposite to hear them analogously and accordingly, they were heard together with the consent of the parties and are being disposed off by the present singular order.

2. Challenge has been made to the decision of the Special Secretary, Education Department, Government of Bihar, Patna dated 08.09.2014, whereby and whereunder the appointment of the petitioners of the aforesaid four cases has been held to be contrary to the rules/regulations, consequently their appointments have been held to be illegal.

3. Before, adverting to the factual outline of the cases in hand, it would be appropriate to mention here that as far as CWJC No. 2905 of 2019 is concerned, the petitioner therein is the widow of one Late Shashi Prasad Singh, who was employed as Class-III employee in the TNB College, Bhagalpur under the Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University, Bhagalpur and had stood superannuated w.e.f. 30.09.2016, whereafter, he died on 24.11.2016.

4. In order to narrate the factual aspect of the matter, it would be appropriate to refer to the facts of one of the aforesaid writ petitions i.e. the one bearing CWJC No. 20640 of 2014. The petitioners were appointed on non-teaching post of Assistant/ Sorter/laboratory In-charge/ Library Assistant etc., in an around the year 1984, in the TNB College, Bhagalpur under the Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University, Bhagalpur, initially on daily wages, whereafter their services were regularized, however, in the year, 1999, their salary was stopped, leading to them having approached this Court by filing a writ petition bearing CWJC No. 2300 of 2000. A co-ordinate Bench of this Court, by an order dated 05.08.2005, passed in the aforesaid writ petition bearing CWJC No. 2300 of 2000, relying on the Order dated 19.03.2005 passed by the Chancellor of the Universities, directing for regularization of the services of the petitioners and payment of salary to them, had directed the respondents to pay the salary of the petitioners at the earliest. It is a matter of record that the petitioners were not paid salary, hence they had to file a contempt petition bearing MJC No. 203 of 2006, whereafter the services of the petitioners as also that of the husband of the aforesaid Smt. Durga Rani Sarkar, were regularized with effect from the date of their initial appointment vide office order dated 08.03.2007, issued by the Registrar, Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University, Bhagalpur. The said order dated 08.03.2007 was ratified by the State Government and the State Government, by an order dated 02.05.2007, which is at Annexure-10 to the aforesaid writ petition bearing CWJC No. 20640 of 2014, issued under the pen and signature of the Deputy Secretary to the Government, Human Resources Department (Higher Education), Government of Bihar, Patna had granted approval to the regularization of the services of the petitioners with effect from the date of their initial appointment. In fact the said order dated 02.05.2007 categorically mentioned therein that the same was being issued in light of the directions issued in MJC No. 203 of 2006. Thereafter, the said contempt petition bearing MJC No. 203 of 2006 was disposed of vide order dated 10.5.2007.

5. The misery of the petitioners did not stop here inasmuch as by an order dated 09.11.2009, the Respondent-University modified the date of absorption of the petitioners and directed for recovery of excess payment made to them, which was challenged by the petitioners, by filing two writ petitions bearing CWJC No. 17867 of 2009 and CWJC No. 16674 of 2009. The aforesaid two writ petitions were heard by a coordinate Bench of this Court, which by an order dated 05.02.2013 had though quashed the aforesaid order of the Respondent-University dated 09.11.2009, but had remanded the matter back to the State Government for granting an opportunity of hearing to the petitioners and then taki