JUDGMENT

ANIL R. DAVE, J.

1. A common legal issue was involved in several writ petitions and appeals pending before different High Courts and therefore, transfer petitions had been filed in this Court so that all pending cases can be transferred to and decided by this Court.

2. 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.

3. The issue involved in all these cases is with regard to retiral 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 empl