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ONGC Purbanchal Employees Association v. Union of India

Civil Appeal · 2018 INSC 299Decided 3 Apr 2018
Civil Appeal No. 3511 of 2018
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Mohan M. Shantanagoudar · Justice Navin Sinha

Background

Contract workers at ONGC's Sibsagar and Lakwa units in Assam sought regularization of their employment, claiming they performed permanent and perennial work. An Industrial Tribunal ruled in the workers' favour, and a Single Judge of the Gauhati High Court upheld that award, but the High Court's Division Bench, on intra-court appeal by ONGC, sent the matter back to the Industrial Tribunal for a fresh look in light of the Supreme Court's earlier ruling in Steel Authority of India v. National Union Waterfront Workers, to determine whether the contract was genuine. The workers' associations then appealed to the Supreme Court against this remand.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the Division Bench, sitting in a writ appeal, was primarily required to examine whether the Single Judge's detailed findings were correct, not to send the entire dispute back to the Tribunal for reconsideration, especially since the Single Judge had already meticulously analyzed the Tribunal's award and there was little left for the Tribunal itself to re-examine. The Court found no justification for the Division Bench bypassing its own appellate role in favour of a fresh Tribunal inquiry. It therefore set aside the Division Bench's remand-to-Tribunal order and instead remitted the writ appeals back to the High Court's Division Bench itself, directing it to decide the appeals on their own merits expeditiously, preferably within six months.

Lesson Learnt

An appellate court hearing a challenge to a tribunal's decision must itself examine whether that decision was correct, rather than simply bouncing a well-considered matter back down to the tribunal for a redo: appellate review cannot be outsourced back to the body whose decision is under challenge.

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

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