In Brief
Commission Vendors were contracted workers who performed catering services in Railways and were later absorbed as permanent employees. The Court held that Commission Vendors absorbed into Northern Railway service must receive equal treatment with their counterparts in other Railways (Western, Eastern, Southern, South-Eastern). Since courts had already awarded 50% of pre-absorption service credit toward pension eligibility in other zones, denying this to Northern Railway employees violated constitutional equality principles. The Court dismissed the Railways' financial burden argument and affirmed pension parity among all Commission Vendors nationwide under the single employer Railway Board.
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