C. K. Thakker, J. - (1.) Leave granted.
(2.) The present appeal is filed by the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (Corporation for short) against judgment and final order dated January 28, 2005 in Writ Petition No. 661 of 1992 by the High Court of Judicature at Bombay. By the impugned order, the High Court allowed the writ petition filed by the respondent-writ petitioner and ruled that he was entitled to the status of permanent employee of the Corporation with effect from the date of filing of the petition i.e. March 16, 1992 and all the benefits accruing by virtue of such permanency.
(3.) Short facts giving rise to the present appeal are that appellant-Corporation is a Government Company within the meaning of Section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956. It is the case of the Corporation that the writ petitioner was engaged by the Corporation in 1984 on casual basis as an unskilled workman at its refinery at Bombay. The writ petitioner filed Writ Petition No. 661 of 1992 in the High Court by invoking Article 226 of the Constitution, inter alia, praying that he be declared as permanent workman on the post of Compounder/Dresser with effect from June 6, 1987 in the Corporation. A prayer was also sought to direct the Corporation to extend to the writ petitioner all benefits accrued in his favour by virtue of his permanency with 18% interest. It appears from the record, however, that since the writ petitioner was engaged purely on ad hoc and temporary basis without following proper procedure of law and without there being any right in his favour, the Corporation stopped engaging him from June, 1996. Being aggrieved by the said action, the workman raised an industrial dispute. Failure report was submitted by the Conciliation Officer and the Central Government, in exercise of power under Section 10(d) read with Section 10(2A) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) referred the dispute for adjudication to the Central Government Industrial Tribunal, Mumbai.;