ELASS MASSEY Vs. M.S. RAMA CHANDRAN AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner herein was one of the petitioners in W.P.(C) No. 8858 of 2005 which had been filed by some persons who were claiming that they were the employees of Indian Oil Corporation though they were recruited through contractors. It was claimed by them that they were employed to do work at the two Guest Houses of Indian Oil Corporation in Delhi and that even though the contractors had been changing but the petitioners -workmen were retained uninterruptedly for performing the duties for which they were initially employed and which work was of perennial nature. Since the workmen employed through the contractors were not getting the service benefits which the employees directly employed by Indian Oil Corporation were getting they raised an industrial dispute for their regularization/absorption by Indian Oil Corporation but since the Government was referring the dispute to the industrial tribunal they That industrial dispute came to be referred for adjudication to the industrial tribunal they filed the above referred writ petition in this Court against Union of India, Indian Oil Corporation and two of its contractors for a direction to the Government to make a reference to the industrial in respect of their demand for their regularization by Indian Oil Corporation. Since the workmen were also apprehending the discontinuance of their services which they were performing for years they also sought a direction to the management of Indian Oil Corporation and the concerned contractors of that time, who were impleaded as respondents no. 4 and 5 in the writ petition, not to terminate their services during the pendency of their dispute for their regularization or till the time of making of the reference of that dispute to the industrial tribunal. In that writ petition this Court had passed an order on 27.05.2004 directing that status quo as on that date shall be maintained.

(2.) IN December, 2004 this contempt petition was filed by the petitioner against the then Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation (respondent no.1 herein) and four of its managers(respondents no. 2 - 5 herein) and the concerned contractor at that time(respondent No. 6 herein), who appears to have replaced the earlier one M/s Dee Sons Maintenance in December, 2004, alleging that they had committed contempt of this Court by violating the order of status quo passed in the main writ petition on 27.05.2004.

(3.) THE relevant paras of this contempt petition are re -produced below: -