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M/s. Cethar Ltd. v. S. Ramesh, General Secretary, Cethar Vessels Thozhilalar Sangam

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 1075 of 2016)Decided 5 Feb 2016
Civil Appeal No. 1075 of 2016
Justice Anil R. Dave · Justice Shiva Kirti Singh · Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel

Background

A company, Cethar Ltd., and a workers' union (Cethar Vessels Thozhilalar Sangam) were in dispute over goods lying at the company's premises and a sum of Rs. 80 lakh that had been deposited with the High Court in connection with that dispute. The company's appeal to the Supreme Court arose out of a High Court order on how these goods and funds should be dealt with pending the larger industrial dispute between the parties.

Decision Breakdown

Counsel for both sides agreed before the Supreme Court that the goods at the company's premises could be removed by the workmen without hindrance, in accordance with the directions already given by the Single Judge of the High Court, and that the Rs. 80 lakh deposited with the High Court should be disbursed to the workers (as directed by the Division Bench) immediately after the goods were removed. The Court recorded this consent arrangement and disposed of the appeal to that extent as allowed, with no order as to costs, while expressly leaving all other contentions between the parties open to be decided by the Industrial Tribunal.

Lesson Learnt

Parties in a larger ongoing dispute can ask the Supreme Court to finally resolve a specific, narrow sub-issue (here, release of goods and funds) by consent, even while the broader underlying dispute is left to continue before the appropriate specialised forum (the Industrial Tribunal).

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

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