1. The petitioners are aggrieved by the order passed by the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal by which order, the appeal filed by R-2 Union was allowed and the common judgment rendered by the Joint Registrar of Co-operative Societies (Consumer), Mysore, was set aside. The Joint Registrar, in his common judgment, had allowed the disputes raised by the petitioners herein and set aside the resolution of R-2 Union dated 5.9.2002. By the said resolution, R-2 had resolved to retire the petitioners with effect from September 2002 pursuant to the petitioners having opted for the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS).

2. The facts are not in dispute inasmuch as the VRS being floated by R-2 Union by Circular dated 12.10.2001. The said circular also had indicated that the scheme would be brought into force and that would depend upon the approval of the Government . R-1 Government, by its order dated 2.07.2002, accorded approval to the VRS subject to certain conditions.

3. The learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that, though the petitioners were among those employees who had opted for the VRS introduced by R-2 by its circular dated 12.01.2001, as the petitioners had subsequently wi