- (1.) Leave granted.
(2.) This appeal has been filed by the appellant-Food Corporation of India challenging the judgment and order dated 16.09.2011 of the High Court of Calcutta in F.M.A. No.1172 of 2010, in and by which, direction has been given to the appellant-Corporation to consider the claim of respondent Nos.1 to 12 for regularization of their services by treating them as casual employees appointed in an irregular manner and granting liberty to the appellant-Corporation to absorb the said respondents in any available vacant posts.
(3.) Brief facts of the case are that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) awarded contract to the Food Handling Co-operative Society in the year 1982 for execution of various operational works in its depots at C.S.D. Dubguri and Siliguri. The Food Handling Co-operative Society executed the works for two years from 10.11.1982 to 09.11.1984 and then continued to work up to 30.04.1995. The respondents took part in such operational works as 'Analyser', 'Picker' and 'Dusting Operators' from 01.01.1983. There was a dispute with regard to mode of engagement of respondents in the aforesaid posts. According to the FCI, the respondents worked under the above contractor. However, respondents claimed that they were engaged directly by FCI as casual workers. The respondents raised an industrial dispute and the same was referred to Central Government Industrial Tribunal, Calcutta by the Government of India, Ministry of Labour on 15.09.1994. The Central Government Industrial Tribunal at Calcutta in Reference No.31/1994 vide its award dated 06.10.1997 directed FCI to regularize the respondents in the post of Dusting Operators with effect from 09.01.1983 on the basis of doctrine of 'equal pay for equal work'. Aggrieved by the same, the appellant filed writ petition being Writ Petition No.16519(W)/98 challenging the said award dated 06.10.1997 and the same was dismissed by the single Judge of the High Court of Calcutta vide Order dated 20.11.1998. Being aggrieved, the appellant-FCI preferred appeal being M.A.T. No.4130/1998. By an interim order dated 22.03.1999, the Division Bench of the High Court directed the appellant-Corporation to engage the respondents subject to the result of the appeal in M.A.T. No.4130/1998. On 23.04.2004, the appeal was allowed and the impugned award dated 6.10.1997 was set aside. Consequent thereupon, the services of the respondents were disengaged by FCI on and from 18.05.2004.;