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Currency Note Press & Anr. v. N.N. Sardesai & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2018 INSC 625Decided 20 Jul 2018
Civil Appeal No. 5152 of 2017
Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre · Justice S. Abdul Nazeer

Background

Seventeen employees of the government-owned Currency Note Press at Nashik claimed unpaid overtime wages for work done between 1986 and 1990 under the Industrial Disputes Act. The Labour Court dismissed their claims, but the Bombay High Court's Single Judge later overturned that and granted the employees the monetary relief they sought. The employer (a government body) appealed to the Supreme Court, wanting to raise legal arguments about the interpretation of shops/establishment and factory labour laws.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court declined to interfere with the High Court's order, citing five practical reasons rather than resolving the legal questions raised: all 17 employees had since retired or died, the compensation amount was not large, the dispute concerned decades-old work (1986-1990), the money had already been paid out long ago following the High Court's order, and the claims related to overtime genuinely worked while on duty. The Court explicitly left the broader legal questions about the applicable labour statutes open for decision in a future, more suitable case, and dismissed the appeal.

Lesson Learnt

Courts can decline to revisit even a potentially debatable legal ruling where practical realities, such as the dispute being old, the amount small, or the relief already implemented, make it not worth disturbing, while still preserving the unresolved legal question for a future case.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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