- (1.) Leave granted in all the special leave petitions.
(2.) A common question of law is involved in all these appeals and therefore, at the request of the learned counsel appearing in these appeals, all these appeals have been heard and decided together.
(3.) The issue involved in these appeals is with regard to interpretation of some of the paras of Indian Railway Establishment Manual, 1989 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Manual'). We are mainly concerned with interpretation of paras 180, 189 and 320 of the Manual. For the purpose of deciding these appeals, we have taken facts from Civil Appeal No.2532 of 2010, which is the main matter in this group of matters.;