JUDGMENT :

HARPREET SINGH BRAR, J.

1. Vide this common order, I intend to dispose of CWP Nos. CWP-18410-2015, CWP-7381-2018 and CWP-11319-2016, as common questions of law and facts are involved for adjudication. For the sake of convenience, facts are taken from CWP-18410-2015.

2. PRAYER

2.1. Prayer in the writ petition (CWP-18410-2015) filed under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India, is for issuance of a writ in the nature of certiorari, for quashing the impugned order dated 26.6.2015 (Annexure P-20), whereby the recovery of Rs.8,21,263/- has been ordered to be recovered from the salary of the petitioner and for quashing the impugned orders dated 22.7.2014 (Annexures P-12 and P-13 respectively) whereby the pay-scale of the petitioner has been re-fixed/reduced w.e.f. 1987 and 1996 respectively, on the false ground that in separate CWPs No.1267 of 1999 and CWP No.9718 of 2000, this Court has passed orders for re-fixing the seniority even when no order of recovery was ever passed by this Court. Another prayer has been made to issue interim direction for staying the operation and effect of the impugned order dated 26.06.2015 (Annexure P-20), whereby the recovery of Rs.8,21,263/- has been ordered to be recovered from the salary of the petitioner, during the pendency of the present writ petition.

3 . FACTS OF THE CASE

3.1. The brief facts of the case are that the petitioner was initially appointed as a Clerk in the Punjab Water Resources and Development Corporation (formerly Punjab State Tubewell Corporation) on 20.01.1979 against a regular vacant post through the process of selection undertaken by the competent authority. The name of the petitioner had been sponsored by the Employment Exchange and he was selected by the Departmental Selection Committee headed by the Superintending Engineer. The services of the petitioner were regularized in the year 1983 w.e.f. 26.10.1982 vide order dated 19.04.1983 (Annexure P-2). Thereafter, the Hon’ble Supreme Court, for the first time, made it mandatory for advertising all posts and the earlier practice of calling/requisitioning from Employment Exchanges on the basis of enrollment was stopped. The petitioner was appointed prior to the direction issued by the Hon’ble Supreme Court on the basis of his name being sponsored by the Employment Exchange. Subsequently, on 17.02.1992, the petitioner was appointed/promoted and posted as Senior Clerk and placed in the pay scale of Rs.1200-2100/- w.e.f. 01.01.1986 vide order dated 17.02.1992 (Annexure P-3). Later, the Standing Committee of the respondent/Corporation in its meeting held on 25.06.1996 decided to re-regularize the services of the petitioner and other Clerks from the initial date of their appointment and accordingly, the petitioner was re-regularized w.e.f. 20.1.1979 as discernible from Annexures P-4 and P-5, respectively. In the year 2004, the petitioner was further promoted to the post of Junior Assistant in the pay scale of Rs.1560-2640/- w.e.f. 20.01.1989 and the office order dated 21.06.2004 (Annexure P-6) also reflected that the petitioner stood regularized w.e.f. from 20.01.1979. In the year 1999, one Darshana Sharma, who was senior to the petitioner in the cadre of Clerks had filed CWP-1267-1999, seeking correction of her seniority viz-a-viz other senior Clerks to her. Similarly, another Clerk namely Amarjit Kaur filed CWP-9718-2000, for correction of her seniority by claiming that her seniority had been wrongly fixed as compared to other Clerks, who were shown as senior to them. During the proceedings in those writ petitions, the respondent Corporation altered its stand and initiated an exercise for refixation of seniority of certain employees including the petitioner. Pursuant to the said exercise, the respondent/Corporation passed the orders dated 22.07.2014 (Annexures P-12 and P-13, respectively) whereby the pay scale of the petitioner was re-fixed with retrospective effect on the basis of re-determination of seniority. At the