1. :- These three writ petitions raise common questions for consideration and, therefore, they are being disposed of by a common order.

2. The Rajasthan State Electricity Board, respondent in these writ petitions (here in after referred to as 'the Board') is a State Electricity Board constituted under the provisions of the Electricity (Supply,) Act, 1948. Section II of the Apprentices Act, 1961 (here in after referred to as 'the Apprentices Act') imposes an obligation on every employer to engage apprentices and to provide training to them in his trade in accordance with the provisions of the said Act and the Rules made there under. In pursuance of the said obligation, the Board has been engaging trade apprentices for imparting training in various trades. The Board issued an advertisement in the year 1977 inviting applications for apprenticeship training and in response to the said advertisement the petitioners submitted their applications and they were selected. Thereafter the petitioners were engaged as trade apprentices in different trades in January/February, 1978 and the period of training was three-the years and in the first years of training they were to be paid Rs. 1