Ranganath Misra, C. J. - (1.) A letter petition received from the District Beedi Workers' Union, Tirunelveli in the State of Tamil Nadu was created as an application under Art. 32 of the Constitution and notice was ordered initially to three factories referred to in the said letter and later to other beedi manufacturing units within the State. In the letter, complaint was made about manipulation of records regarding employees, non-payment of appropriate dues for work taken, failure to implement the provisions of the labour laws, prevalence of contract labour system etc. There is a connected petition also relating to the same subject matter with different ancillary reliefs covering employment of child labour and the non-implementation of the Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966. We have considered it appropriate to deal with both the applications together.
(2.) This Court by an Order dated 24th October, 1989 appointed a social organisation by name 'Society for Community Organisation Trust' (SOCCO) for making appropriate investigation and furnish a report to the Court. After the Report was received and circulated, the State Government of Tamil Nadu and the manufacturers were given time to file their response by way of affidavits. This Court then directed that a scheme should be formulated for consideration of the Court. This Court made an Order on 24th July, 1991 to the following effect. "We gather from the submissions made at the Bar that in the meantime some exercise has been undertaken for, the purpose of finalising the Scheme. Initially the State of Tamil Nadu had taken the lead but later Union of India has also got interested and meeting on a bigger scale for the purpose of finalising the Scheme is being arranged. The Attorney General is-present in Court today. We have also suggested to him that he may participate in the proceedings to help the Scheme to be finalised as quickly as possible. "
(3.) Then came two Schemes, one by the petitioners and the other by the State of Tamil Nadu. By Order dated October 8, 1991, the Court directed on the basis of consent of counsel that at a conference the terms should be settled for one scheme to be adopted by the Court. On 10th October, 1991, on the representation of the parties, the Court made the following Order: "Pursuant to our earlier direction, the employers, employees and the State Government through their representatives met and have sorted out some of the differences. Matters which are agreed to by all and aspects which are not agreed to by the employers have been separately shown. A copy of this may be served on counsel for the Union of India present in the Court today and he is given three weeks' time to indicate the responses. The appropriate Ministry of the Government of India to respond to the relevant aspects." Pursuant to this Order, the Under Secretary in the Ministry of Labour of the Union Government has filed an affidavit which we have examined.;