Hon’ble Arun Tandon, J.—Heard Sri Raghvendra Singh, learned Advocate General State of U.P. assisted by Sri Yogendra Kumar Srivastava, Advocate on behalf of the State-appellants and Sri Angira Prasad and Namit Kumar Sharma, Advocates on behalf of the respondents in all these appeals.

2. These intra-Court appeals filed by the State of Uttar Pradesh raise common question of law and have therefore, been clubbed together.

3. Delay in filing of all these appeals has been explained to the satisfaction of the Court. Delay is condoned. Delay condonation applications are allowed. Let all these appeals be treated to be within time.

4. Special Appeal Defective No. 773 of 2016 is being treated as the leading case and the facts stated herein are with reference to the said appeal.

5. Gorakh Nath Pandey and 15 others filed Writ-A No. 61107 of 2013 for quashing of the order of the General Manager, District industries Centre, Sonebhadra served on 25th September, 2013 with a further prayer to command the State-authorities to provide pension and other retiral dues to the petitioners.

6. All the petitioners were appointed on various dates in U.P. Government Cement Factory Churk, Mirzapur between 1959 to 1969.

7. It is not in dispute that all these petitioners answered the description of industrial employees/workmen within the meaning to be assigned for the purpose under the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 (hereinafter referred to as the “Act, 1946”) and the rules framed thereunder. The conditions of their employment were governed by the Standing Orders applicable to the U.P. Government Cement Factory Churk, Mirzapur (hereinafter referred to as the “Factory”).

8. Petitioners were sent on deputation to the U.P. Government Cement Corporation Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the “Corporation”) on 1st April, 1972, which was extended from time to time and finally on 1st April, 1981 they were absorbed as the employees of the Corporation. Petitioners attained the age of superannuation between 1994 to 2004.

9. The cement corporation was declared a sick Industrial Undertaking under the provisions of Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985. The Corporation was directed to be wound up under orders of the Company Court dated 8th December, 1999 on the recommendation of the Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction. Consequently an Official Liquidator was appointed to settle the claims/dues on the Corporation. The existing employees were directed to be absorbed in other department of the State of Uttar Pradesh under the provisions of U.P. Absorption of Retrenched Employees Rules, 1991.

10. Petitioners on attaining the age of superannuation claimed that they were entitled to pension like any other employees of the U.P./U.P. Government Cement Factory Churk, Mirzapur, who had since been absorbed in the U.P. Government Cement Corporation Ltd. It was claimed that they were Government servants and were entitled to pensionery benefits under Civil Service Regulations.

11. The history of the litigation in that regard including the orders passed by the High Court and the Officers of the State Government from time to time have already been noticed in the judgment of the learned Single Judge giving rise to the present intra-Court appeal, which need not be repeated by us.

12. Suffice is to record that the General Manager, District Industries Centre vide order dated 12th March, 2013 rejected the claim of the petitioners for grant of pensionery benefits and other retiral dues on the ground that the petitioners did not answer the description of Government servant within the meaning of Regulation 361 of the Civil Service Regulations and consequently there were not entitled to pensionery benefits. It is against this order of the General Manager that Writ-A No. 61107 of 2013 had been filed by Gorakh Nath Pandey and 15 others.

13. On behalf of the petitioners, it was contended that they were regular workers, who had been appointed o