S.B.Sinha, J. - (1.) -The jurisdiction of this Court to direct the appropriate Government to issue a notification under section 10(1) of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 (hereinafter called and referred for the sake of brevity of this case as 'the said Act') and to further direct the Appellant herein to absorb the writ petitioner respondents is in question in this appeal.
(2.) The writ petitioners who were 171 in numbers filed an application under Article 226 of Constitution of India before this Court marked as C.O. No. 6268(W) of 1990 praying for the following reliefs :- "(a)A writ in the nature of Mandamus commanding the respondents to absorb the petitioners permanently in the regular establishment and to extend all service benefits as enjoyed by similarly circumstanced employees who are under the regular establishment of them; (b)A writ in the nature of Mandamus commanding the respondents not to appoint any staff like the petitioners directly until and unless the petitioners are totally absorbed in the regular establishment."
(3.) The ground upon which such prayer was made was that although they had been working in their respective posts in the maintenance work of the Township of Indian Oil Corporation at Haldia through the contractors, but as the principal employer had pervasive control over the performance of the job, they are entitled to be absorbed in their services. The fact that the writ petitioners were appointed by various contractors from the years 1972 to 1980 and further the fact that although the contractors had been appointed by one contractor, despite termination of such contract they had been retained in service by the successor contractors is not in dispute.;