- (1.) A common legal issue was involved in several writ petitions and appeals pending before different High Court and therefore, transfer Petitioners had been filed in this Court so that all pending cases can be transferred to and decided by this Court. Upon hearing the learned Counsel and upon perusal of the facts of the cases, this Court found that substantial questions of general importance were involved in the said cases and therefore, it would, be in the interest of justice if all the cases are heard and decided together and therefore, all these cases have been transferred to this Court.
(2.) The issue involved in all these cases is with regard to retrial benefits to be given to a special class of retired employees of five nationalized general insurance companies. The undisputed facts and legal issues involved in all these cases are as under: The insurance companies, who have been described hereinafter as "the Employers" were in financial difficulties and so as to cut their expenditure, the Employers framed a scheme named "General Insurance Employees Special Voluntary Retirement Scheme, 2004" (hereinafter referred to as "the Scheme"), so as to enable its employees to retire prematurely on certain conditions with some special benefits.
(3.) Normally a person gets pension when he retires from service after putting in the period of pensionable service as per his service conditions. All the employees, in the instant case, would be eligible to get pension if they retire from service after putting in 20 years of service.;