1. The petitioners in O.A.Nos.3280 to 3283 of 2000 were employed as part time Lecturers in the Government Law Colleges functioning under the control of the second respondent the Director of Legal Studies, Chennai. They moved the Tamil Nadu Administrative Tribunal with different original applications seeking for a direction to regularise their services on par with full time Lecturers who are appointed along with the petitioners on contract basis and whose services were regularised and confirmed by virtue of the G.O.Ms.No.193, Law Department, dated 8.5.1996.

2. These O.As. were admitted by the Tribunal on 3.5.2000. Pending the O.As, the Tribunal granted an interim order on the same day. The respondents were directed not to terminate the services of the petitioners from the posts of part time Lecturers in the Government Law Colleges after the end of the academic year 1999-2000. The said interim order which was initially granted for a period of two weeks was subsequently extended by a further order, dated 8.6.2000 without specifying any outer time limit. Though applications were filed by the Director of Legal Studies, Chennai in M.A.Nos.460, 339, 461 and 459 of 2003 for early