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1. The facts in all the aforesaid writ petitions are more or less similar and for the sake of convenience reference is made to the facts of W.P(C) 919/2013.

2. These are writ petitions filed by the petitioners who were erstwhile employees of Delhi Electric Supply Undertaking (DESU) and which thereafter became Delhi Vidhut Board (DVB). After unbundling of DVB, the services of the employees of DVB were transferred to various electricity distribution companies (DISCOMS). The petitioners‟ services were also transferred to DISCOMS and in terms of the agreement between the DVB and the DISCOMS, the service conditions of the employees were not to be adversely affected, and they would continue to remain the same as were the service conditions of these petitioners with the erstwhile DVB. I may also note, and this would in a way be relevant for disposal of these petitions, that each of the petitioners have taken voluntary retirement many years back. The voluntary retirements were taken by the petitioners in around the year 2003-2004.

3. The main relief which is claimed in the present writ petition is the claim of the petitioner to the Time Bound Promotion Scale scheme which was brought into force by the DVB way back on 23.7.1997 i.e about 15 years before. As per the Time Bound Promotion Scale scheme, every employee who was covered by the scheme dated 23.7.1997, was entitled to two time bound promotional scales. The first was after 10 years of regular service and the second was after another 8 years of service. The office order of the DVB dated 23.7.1997 was clarified by the office order of DVB dated 21.12.1999 whereby the entitlement of a third time bound promotional scale was to be given to persons employed below the level of Asst. Engineer in a total period of 26 years from the date of entering into the service at the base level on regular basis. The effect of this, clarification dated 21.12.1999 would be to bring about in a way retrospective operation of the time bound promotional scheme granted by the order dated 23.7.1997 in that the total period is to be counted for grant of time bound promotional scales not from the intermediate date of promotion but from the original date of entering into the service. Learned counsel for the petitioner has argued that this issue is now fully covered in favour of the petitioners by the judgment dated 28.7.2008 passed by a learned Single Judge of this Court in W.P.(C) No. 2237/2002 titled as M.K.Saini Vs. DVB, and in which judgment, benefit of the 1997 circular has been granted with a retrospective operation in the sense that if the 18 years expires even one day after passing of the office order dated 23.7.1997, even then in such case, the benefit of the enhanced pay-scale of 18 years would be granted as long as the 18 years is complete taking the period of 18 years from the date of entering into service at the base level. Paras 4 to 13 of this judgment are relevant and which read as under:-

4. Consequent upon the above merger, the petitioner who was at that time Superintendent (Tech.) and his subordinates who were working as Inspector (Electrical) were overnight re-designated as JEs. The question then arose about the implementation of the Time Bound Promotional Scheme („TBPS‟) by which a JE with 10 years‟ experience was to be given the scale of an Assistant Engineer (AE) (i.e. the first TBPS) and an AE with 8 years‟ experience would be granted the scale of an EE (the second TBPS). It was realized that if those JEs who had already put in some years of service were to be equated with those recently re- designated for the purpose of grant of the second TBPS, it might cause heart burn. Therefore an Office Order dated 19th October 2000 was issued by DVB which was later modified by another Office Order dated 1st November 2000 the relevant portion of which read as under:

b) The eligibility for the time bound promotional scale to the scale of XEN as on 24.8.1999 will be only for those Junior Engineers who are already in the pay scale of AE prior to the date of merger and provided they fulfill the eligibility condition for promotion to the net time-scale of Executive Engineer."

5. The petitioner was not granted the second TBPS to the post of EE on the ground that as on 24th August 1999 he had not completed 18 years of service. When his representations were to no avail, he filed the present petition seeking a mandamus to the DVB to grant him the second TBPS promotional scale of EE with effect from 16th November 1999.