JUDGMENT

R.V. Raveendran, J. —

Leave granted.

2. The first matter relates to persons temporarily appointed as Assistant Superintendents in 1985 and 1986 in aided hostels. The prefix ‘Assistant’ was omitted in 1996 and thereafter the respondents were known as Superintendents. The second matter relates to a person temporarily appointed as a Superintendent on 30.6.1998 in an aided hostel. They filed writ petitions contending that they were employed on full-time basis and were discharging functions similar to those of Superintendents in Government hostels, but were being paid only a meagre salary while their counterparts in Government hostels are paid much higher pay in the scale of Rs.4000-6100 in the category (A) and (B) Hostels and Rs.3200-4900 in category ‘C’ hostels. They sought regularization in the posts of Hostel Superintendent from the date of initial appointment and payment of salary on par with hostel Superintendent of class ‘C’ hostels of the Social Welfare Department.

3. The respective respondents in the remaining eight appeals, claim that they were appointed in the years 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998, as part-time cooks/chowkidars in government hostels run by Social Welfare D