1. Impugned Award of 18th April, 2007 answers the Reference in favour of respondents-Workmen and directs petitioner-Bank to absorb respondents-Workmen within three months of the date of publication of the Award. In the above-captioned 11 petitions, quashing of impugned Award of 18th April, 2007 is sought, whereas in the above-captioned last petition, respondents-workmen in the above-captioned eight petitions, except respondents-Ramesh Lal, Vijay Kumar Singh and Sanjay Kumar, are petitioners who have sought backwages and continuity of service since the year 1994.

2. With the consent of learned counsel for the parties, the above-captioned twelve petitions, while treating W.P.(C) 7247/2007 as the lead matter, have been heard together and by this common judgment, these petitions are being decided.

3. The Reference sought by respondents-Workmen reads as under:

“Whether there is violation of Bipartite Settlement dated 27.10.1988 and 09.01.1990 between State Bank of India and All India SBI Staff Federation in preparing the panel of candidates and re-interviewing a few “unsuitable” candidates of first interview on 15.01.1994 and 19.01.1994 to the exclusion of others? If so, to what