- (1.) Leave granted.
(2.) The appellant-Corporation has questioned the correctness of the judgment and order dated 11.08.2011 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Madras whereby the High Court dismissed the Writ Appeal No. 1006 of 2011 filed by the appellant-Corporation against the dismissal of their W.P. No. 1846 of 2000 challenging the award dated 26.05.1999 passed by the Industrial Tribunal, Tamil Nadu, in I.D. No.66 of 1991, wherein it was held that non-regularisation of the concerned workmen in the dispute is not justified and directed the appellant-Corporation to regularise the services of the concerned workmen with effect from 14.01.1990, the date on which all of them completed 480 days.
(3.) The relevant facts are briefly stated hereunder to appreciate the rival legal contentions urged on behalf of the parties in this appeal. The appellant-Corporation is a Public Sector Undertaking of the Government of India in the name of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (hereinafter referred to as the 'Corporation'). The Corporation has a project in the Cauveri Basin, situated in and around Karaikal, Union Territory of Puducherry and about 1050 employees have been regularly employed by the Corporation for its project. For the purpose of the Corporation's security requirement for the project, it initially employed the concerned workmen some of whom are members of the respondent-Union, as security guards and security supervisors through contractors. However, on the notification dated 08.12.1976 issued by the Government of India under Section 10(1) of the Contract Labour (Abolition and Regulation) Act, 1970, abolishing contract labour for watch and ward, dusting and cleaning jobs in the Corporation, the concerned workmen were employed as per the settlement arrived at between the Trade Union and the Management of the Corporation under Section 18(1) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (for short 'the Act'), under which it was agreed to form a Co-operative Society in the name of 'Thai Security Service Priyadarshini Indira Cooperative Society' (for short 'the Co-operative Society') for the welfare of such erstwhile contract workmen. The services were utilised by the Corporation through the Co-operative Society to meet its requirements and for the time period for which required, thus dispensing with intermediary contractors.;