ORDER :

1. Special leave granted. With consent of counsel for parties, these appeals were heard finally. The appellants (hereby also referred to as “the aggrieved candidates”) in four sets of appeals¹ [SLP (C) No. 19059/2019, SLP (C) No. 15629-15639/2019, SLP (C) No. 22044-22067/2019, SLP (C) No. 22036-22043/2019 - directed against a common judgment and order dated 02.08.2018 (in W.A. No. 574/2017, W.A. Nos. 1450/2017, 1452/2017 and 1454-1462/2017, W.P. Nos. 36656/2016, 36658/2016, 36890/2016, 42792- 42794/2016, 39782-39785/2016, 42613-42614/2016, 35135-35137/2016, 35926-35930/ 2016, 35932-35935/2016, W.A. Nos. 990/2016 and W.A. Nos. 1696-1702/2018, delivered by the Madras High Court] are aggrieved by a common judgment and order dated 02.08.2018 of Division Bench of the Madras High Court. In another appeal² [Arising from SLP (C) No. 3183-3209/2020 (directed) against a common judgment dated 29.04.2019 of the Madras High Court in Writ Appeal Nos. 1071, 1072 of 2016, Writ Petition Nos. 8150, 10266, 10267, 17997, 17998, 29113, 29114, 29115, 29116, 33743, 33744, 33745, 39292, 39673, 41609, 41610 of 2016 and Writ Petition Nos. 13948 13949, 13950, 13951, 13952, 13953, of 2017, Writ Petitio