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Sunil Kumar Biswas v. Ordinance Factory Board & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2019 INSC 436Decided 29 Mar 2019
Civil Appeal No. 3290 of 2019
Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre · Justice Dinesh Maheshwari

Background

The appellant and a few others, who had worked for about 25 years as contractor-supplied workers at the Ordinance Factory Board, approached the Central Administrative Tribunal seeking regularization of their services. The Tribunal dismissed their application, and the Calcutta High Court later dismissed their writ petition too, holding that their proper remedy was to seek an industrial reference under Section 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 rather than a writ petition.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court agreed with the High Court's view, holding that a dispute of this nature, involving factual questions about employment status and entitlement to regularization, needs to be adjudicated through evidence before the Industrial Tribunal under Section 10 of the ID Act, not through a writ petition or an Original Application before the Tribunal. The Court found no merit in the appeal and dismissed it, while clarifying that if the Central Government does refer the matter to the Industrial Tribunal, it should decide the dispute strictly on facts and law, uninfluenced by any observations made in the earlier proceedings.

Lesson Learnt

Long-serving contract workers seeking regularization must pursue the correct legal forum, an industrial reference under the Industrial Disputes Act, rather than a writ petition, since such disputes often turn on disputed facts that only a Tribunal taking evidence can properly resolve.

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

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