DURGAPUR CASUAL WORKERS UNION & ORS. versus FOOD CORPORATION OF INDIA & ORS.

Citation: [2014] 12 S.C.R. 377 · Decided: 09-12-2014 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: S. J. MUKHOPADHAYA · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed
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Judgment (excerpt)

[2014] 12 S.C.R. 377 
DURGAPUR CASUAL WORKERS UNION & ORS. 
A 
v. 
FOOD CORPORATION OF INDIA & ORS. 
(Civil Appeal No. 10856 of 2014) 
DECEMBER 09, 2014 
[SUDHANSU JYOTI MUKHOPADHAYA AND 
PRAFULLA C. PANT, JJ.] 
Industrial Disputes Act, 1947: 
s. 25H, item 10, Part I, Fifth Schedule - Re-employment 
of retrenched workmen -
Contract workers under the 
contractor in rice mill of the Corporation - Closure of rice mill 
- Termination of contract system - Said workmen employed 
B 
c 
by the Corporation as casual employees on daily wage basis 
- Workmen seeking regularization of services - Award by the· D 
tribunal to absorb the causal workmen holding that there was 
unfair trade practice on the part of the Management of the 
Corporation - Upheld by the Single Judge, however, set aside 
by the Division Bench of the High Court - On appeal, held:. 
No plea was taken by the Corporation either before the State 
E 
Government or before the Tribunal that the initial appointment 
of workmen were illegal or they were appointed through back 
door means - Thus, in absence of any such plea, the Division 
Bench of the High Court not justified in holding that initial. 
appointments of workmen were in violation of Arts. 14 and 16 
and in denying the benefit to which the workmen were entitled 
- Tribunal gave a specific finding of unfair trade practice on 
F 
the part of the Management of the Corporation - Having 
accepted that there was unfair trade practice, the Division 
Bench erred in interfering with the award - Constitution of G 
India, 1950 - Arts. 14 and 16. 
s. 2(ka) - Industrial establishment or undertaking - Held: 
377 
H 
378 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
(2014] 12 S.C.R. 
A Not only includes the State Public Undertakings, the 
Subsidiary Companies and Autonomous bodies owned or 
control by the State Government or Central Government but 
also the private industries and undertakings - Act applies to 
all such industries - If any unfair labour practice is committed 
8 by any of these industrial establishment, labour court/tribunal 
would decide the .same. 
' 
s. 20), 2(k), 2(ra) -' Unfair labour practice - Appointment 
in the services of the 'State' and in private establishment or . 
undertaking - Arts. 14 and 16, when attracted - Held: Arts. 
C 14 and 16 are attracted in the matter of appointment in the 
services of the 'State' but not in case of appointment in private 
establishment or undertaking - However, undertaking of the 
Government, cannot justify its illegal action including unfair 
labour practice nor can ask for different treatment on account 
D · of Arts. 14 and 16 - Constitution of India, .1950 - Arts. 14 and 
16. 
Secretary, State of Kamataka and others v. Umadevi (3) 
and others 2006 (3) SCR 953:(2006) 4 SCC 1; M.P. 
E Administration v. Tribhuban 2007 (4) SCR.918:(2007) 9 SCC 
.748; Maharashtra State Road transport and another v. 
Casteribe Rajya Parivahan Karmchari Sanghatana (2009) 8 
SCC 556; Ajaypal Singh v. Haryana Warehousing 
Corporation 2014 (13) SCALE 636 - referred. 
F 
G 
H 
. 
. 
Case Law Reference·: 
2006 .(3) SCR 953 
2007 (4) SCR 918 
(2009) 8 sec 556 
Referred to 
Referred to 
Referred to 
2014(13) SCALE 636 · ;Referretl to 
Para6,16 
Para 17 
Para 18 
Para 19,21 
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 
10856 of 2014. 
DURGAPUR CASUAL WORKERS UNION v. FOOD CORP. 
379 
. OFINDIA 
From the Judgment & Order dated 25.02.2009 of the High A 
Court of at Calcutta in F.M.A. No. 2345 of 2005. 
Guru Krishna Kumar, Subhasish Bhowmick, Niti Luthra, 
S.C. Patel for the Appellants. 
Y. Prabhakara Rao for the Respondents. 
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by 
SUDHANSU JYOTI MUKHOPADHAYA, J. 1. Leave 
B 
granted. 
c 
2. This appeal has been preferred by the appellant-
Durgapur Casual Workers Union and others (hereinafter 
referred to as, 'the workmen' for short) against the judgment 
and order dated 25th February, 2009 passed by the Division 
Bench of the High Court at Calcutta in F.M.A. No.2345 of 2005 D 
(C.A.N. 8685 of 2007 and C.A.N.4726 of 2008). By the 
impugned judgment, the High Court allowed ·the appeal 
preferred by the respondent-Food Corporation of India 
(hereinafter referred to as, 'the Corporation' for short) and set 
aside the Award dated 9th June, 1999 passed by the Central 
E 
Government Industrial Tribunal (hereinafter referred to as, 'the 
Tribunal' for short) as affirmed by the learned Single Judge of 
the High Court at Calcutta. 
3. The factual matrix of the case is as follows: 
F
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