Heard counsel for the parties.

2. Petitioners have sought a mandamus upon the respondents to fix the salary of the petitioners in regular scale of pay together with the dearness allowance as admissible to other regular employees of Damodar Valley Corporation, with effect from the year 1996 in the revised scale of pay of Rs. 3050-4590. Petitioners have also sought for payment of arrears of pay and allowances as revised with effect from 1996 together with interest for the delay in such payment.

3. The case of the petitioners is that they were engaged after proper advertisement, interview and selection in the year 1981 to perform the work of Guage Reader in the corporation for the period of five months every year during the monsoon period. These petitioners have since 1981 been regularly engaged / appointed each year till the year 1998 on the basis of regular scale of pay as per their appointment orders issued each year by the respondent corporation, some of which have also been annexed as annexure-1 series to the writ petition. The ground taken by these petitioners for being aggrieved is that subsequently from 1998 onwards, they have been engaged for the period of five months in