SAMBUDDHA CHAKRABARTI,J. - (1.) A gazette notification, dated May 25, 2011, prohibiting the employment of contract labour in the job of barrel and small can filling (upto 1 liter.) in the establishment of Lube Oil Blending Plant of Indian Oil Corporation, Budge Budge, is the subject matter of challenge absolutely on certain points of law raised in the present writ petition. But as in respect of all points of law, so also in the present one, it cannot be appreciated in vacuum, calling for a brief narration of facts leading to the issue of the notification. This will turn facilitate as appreciating both the context as well as the validity of the points of law raised.
(2.) The petitioner i.e. Indian Oil Corporation, (the Corporation, for short) is a government company. It owns and operates a lubricant plant at Budge Budge. This was originally owned by IBP Co. Ltd. which became the petitioner's upon the amalgamation of the Corporation with the IBP Co. Ltd. on May 2, 2007.
(3.) At all material times contract labour was employed in the plant. In the year 2001, a union of the IBP company, i.e., the respondent no. 4 moved a writ petition before this Court and obtained an order directing the respondents therein to dispose of the application under Section 10 of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, (the Act, for short) in accordance with law within a period of three months from the date of the communication of the order. The Central Advisory Contract Labour Board (the Board, for short) by a resolution dated February 18, 2003, constituted a committee for examining the issue.;