JUDGMENT :

A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar, J.

These writ appeals arise from a common judgment dated 09.05.2022 of a learned single judge in W.P.(C) Nos.12838 and 12917 of 2021, and raise the question as to the maintainability of a writ petition that seeks to enforce the terms of an industrial settlement.

THE FACTS IN BRIEF:

The writ petitions were preferred by some employees and recognised Trade Unions of the BPCL – Kochi Refinery, aggrieved by an Office Memorandum dated 10.06.2021 that, according to them, took away the benefit of a post retirement medical benefit scheme (PRMBS) granted generally to employees of the establishment, from those employees who had less than 15 years of service in the establishment as on 01.06.2021. It was their contention in the writ petitions that insofar as the excluded category of employees was earlier held entitled to the benefit of the PRMB scheme, and the said fact was even recognised in the Long Term Settlement (LTS) entered into between the management and the employees on 30.05.2013 (to cover the period from 01.08.2008 to 31.07.2018), the impugned Office Memorandum had the effect of depriving the said category of employees from the benefit of the PRMB Sc