Order
1. Delay condoned in SLPs. These batch of cases were delinked while hearing an another batch of appeals from the same State, which were disposed of by us by judgment dated 19-9-2000 (2000) 8 SCC 4.
2. It is conceded by the learned counsel appearing for the State that in these cases we are concerned with employees who had been engaged initially on work-charge basis and later on they were regularised and brought into the cadre of the service. It is also not disputed by the learned counsel appearing for the State that this period which the employees have rendered on work-charge basis counts for the purpose of the increment in the cadre as well as the qualifying service for the pension. We, therefore, see no justification in not counting their period for the purpose of giving additional increment on completion of 8 and 18 years of service as well as 10 and 20 years of service for getting higher scale as per the government circular, which obviously is intended to avoid stagnation in a particular grade. In that view of the matter, we see no justification for our interference with the impugned order CWP No. 3759 of 1995 of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. These appeals and SLPs accordingly stand dismissed.