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Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970

72 judgments · newest first · showing 1–72

M/S AMPH FASHION PVT. LTD.versusAUTHORITY UNDER UP INDUSTRIAL PEACE AND 2 OTHERS

The Trade Union filed an application alleging that contract workers employed by B.S. Enterprises for Amph Fashion Pvt. Ltd were not paid wages, bonuses or statutory benefits. The Additional Labour Court, after the contractor failed to appear, ordered Amph Fashion to pay the workers under Section 21 …

MAHANADI COALFIELDS LTD.versusBRAJRAJNAGAR COAL MINES WORKERS’ UNION

2024 INSC 199

Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. (the appellant) had engaged a contractor to transport crushed coal, employing 32 workmen from 1984 to 1994. The workers' union sought regularisation of all 32 workers under clauses of the National Coal Wage Agreement IV, leading to a settlement on 5 April 1997 that …

KIRLOSKAR BROTHERS LIMITEDversusRAMCHARAN AND ORS

2022 INSC 1255Appeal(s) allowed

Kirloskar Brothers Ltd., the principal employer, appealed against orders that reinstated six contract labourers (Ramcharan & others) and directed Kirloskar to absorb them as employees. The labour contract with the contractor (respondent No.7) had ended and the contractor dismissed the workers. The …

MANIBEN MAGANBHAI BHARIYAversusDISTRICT DEVELOPMENT OFFICER DAHOD & ORS.

2022 INSC 473Appeal(s) allowed

The petitioners, Anganwadi workers and helpers employed under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme in Gujarat, sought gratuity benefits under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972. The Gujarat High Court’s Division Bench held that they were not employees and thus ineligible for …

ADIRAJ MANPOWER SERVICES PVT. LTD.versusCOMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL EXCISE PUNE

2022 INSC 201Dismissed

The appellant, Adiraj Manpower Services Pvt. Ltd., a manpower recruitment agency, entered into agreements with Sigma Electric Manufacturing to supply personnel for various manufacturing activities. The Commissioner of Central Excise issued a show‑cause notice alleging that the appellant had failed …

M/S UTKAL SUPPLIERSversusM/S MAA KANAK DURGA ENTERPRISES & ORS.

2021 INSC 242Appeal(s) allowed

The dispute arose from a Tender Call Notice issued by the SCB Medical College Hospital, Cuttack, which required bidders to submit a "valid labour licence". M/s. Utkal Suppliers (appellant) was awarded the contract, while M/s. Maa Kanak Durga Enterprises (respondent No.1) was disqualified for not …

FICUS PAX PRIVATE LTD. & ORS.versusUNION OF INDIA & ORS.

2020 INSC 425Directions issued

The Supreme Court examined challenges by private employers, including Ficus Pax Private Ltd., to central and state orders issued under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 that compelled private establishments to pay full wages to all workers during the COVID‑19 lockdown. The petitioners argued that …

OIL AND NATURAL GAS CORPORATIONversusKRISHAN GOPAL & ORS.

2020 INSC 147Directions issued

The Supreme Court examined a batch of appeals filed by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) challenging High Court orders that regularised workmen based on the PCLU judgment. The Court questioned whether the PCLU decision correctly interpreted clause 2(ii) of ONGC’s Certified Standing Orders and …

ONGC LABOUR UNIONversusONGC DEHRADUN & ORS.

2019 INSC 1154

The Central Government issued a notification on 08‑09‑1994 under Section 10(1) of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 prohibiting contract labour in several categories of work in ONGC establishments. ONGC challenged the notification before the Uttarakhand High Court, which …

STEEL AUTHORITY OF INDIA LTD. & ANR.versusJAGGU & ORS. ETC.

2019 INSC 727Disposed off

The case concerned 2,040 contract labourers employed in SAIL's captive limestone mine who, after a 1993 prohibition on contract labour under the CLRA Act, continued to work and claimed parity of wages with regular SAIL employees under the NJCS memorandum. The respondents sought relief under Section …

BHARAT HEAVY ELECTRICALS LTD.versusMAHENDRA PRASAD JAKHMOLA & ORS.

2019 INSC 244Appeal(s) allowed

The Supreme Court examined whether Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL) was subject to the 24‑April‑1990 notification issued under the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, and whether the workmen who were engaged through contractors were direct employees of BHEL. The Court held that …

PURBANCHAL EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATIONversusUNION OF INDIA & ORS.

2018 INSC 299Disposed off

The ONGC Purbanchal Employees Association challenged a High Court Division Bench order that remitted two industrial dispute matters concerning the regularisation of contract workers back to the Industrial Tribunal. The Tribunal had earlier awarded regularisation, an award that was upheld by a Single …

NASHIK WORKERS UNIONversusHINDUSTAN AERONAUTICS LIMITED

2016 INSC 1170Appeal(s) allowed

The Nashik Workers Union filed several complaints under the Maharashtra Recognition of Trade Unions and Prevention of Unfair Labour Practices Act, 1971 seeking reinstatement and back wages for trainees of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The dispute turned on whether, for HAL, the "appropriate …

PEPSICO INDIA HOLDING P. LTD.versusGROCERY MARKET & SHOPS BOARD & ORS.

2016 INSC 161Dismissed

The Supreme Court examined whether the Maharashtra Mathadi, Hamal and Other Manual Workers (Regulation of Employment and Welfare) Act, 1969 and the Grocery Markets or Shops Unprotected Workers Scheme, 1970 could be applied to Pepsico India Holding Ltd., which manufactures petro‑chemical products, …

M/S PARADEEP PHOSPHATE LTD.versusPARADEEP PHOSPHATE MAZDOOR UNION & ORS.

2014 INSC 565Dismissed

The State Government of Orissa issued a notification on 28 April 2000 abolishing contract labour for workers in the OAP plant of M/s Paradeep Phosphate Ltd. The Mazdoor Union filed writ petitions seeking enforcement of the notification and regularisation of the affected workers. The company …

BALWANT RAI SALUJA &ANR. ETC. ETC.versusAIR INDIALTD. & ORS.

2014 INSC 561Dismissed

The case concerned workmen employed by a contractor to run a statutory canteen on the premises of Air India, which under Section 46 of the Factories Act, 1948, must provide such a facility. The workmen claimed they were deemed employees of Air India and sought regularisation and other employment …

BHUVNESH KUMAR DWIVEDIversusM/S HINDALCO INDUSTRIES LTD.

2014 INSC 335Appeal(s) allowed

Bhuvnesh Kumar Dwivedi was employed by Hindalco Industries Ltd as a labour supervisor from 30‑12‑1992 to 27‑07‑1998. Although the employer periodically terminated his service on the pretext of "sanction expired" and re‑appointed him on short contracts, the workman rendered continuous service of …

SUDHIR VASUDEVA, CHAIRMAN & MD. ONGC & ORS.versusM. GEORGE RAVISHEKARAN & ORS.

2014 INSC 77Appeal(s) allowed

The respondents, contract Radio Operators of ONGC, were ordered by the Madras High Court in 2006 to be absorbed as Marine Assistant Radio Operators or, if no posts were available, to receive pay parity. The corporation complied with the pay‑parity direction but did not create supernumerary Marine …

BALWANT RAI SALUJA & ANR. ETC. ETC.versusAIR INDIA LTD. & ORS.

2013 INSC 755Matter referred to larger bench

The workmen employed in the canteen of Air India, which was operated by Chef Air, a unit of the Hotel Corporation of India (HCI), claimed they were regular employees of Air India. Air India argued that HCI was a separate legal entity and that it had no control over the workers' hiring, wages, or …

M/S. DELHI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT PVT. LTD.versusUNION OF INDIA & ORS.

2011 INSC 686Disposed off

The case concerned 136 contract workers who had been employed as trolley retrievers at Delhi airports and sought regularisation after the Central Government’s 2004 notification under the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 (CLRAA) prohibited such contract labour in the Airports …

SARVA SHRAMIK SANGHversusINDIAN OIL CORPORATION LTD. & ORS.

2009 INSC 486Appeal(s) allowed

The Sarva Shramik Sangh, representing canteen workers employed by a contractor of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), first filed a writ petition seeking abolition of the contract labour system under the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, which was dismissed for want of prosecution. It …

RESERVE BANK OF INDIA & ANR.versusSTATE REP. BY M.R. BHAVSAR, BOMBAY

2008 INSC 1109Appeal(s) allowed

The Labour Enforcement Officer issued a show‑cause notice under Section 7 of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, alleging that the Reserve Bank of India’s College of Agricultural Banking had violated the Act. The principal of the college filed an application to quash the …

KRANTIKARI SURAKSHA RAKSHAK SANGHATANAversusBHARAT SANCHAR NIGAM LTD. AND ORS .

2008 INSC 965Dismissed

The Supreme Court examined whether a security guard allotted by the Maharashtra Private Security Guards Board to a principal employer becomes the employee of that employer, thereby stripping the Board of its power to recall, re‑allot or transfer the guard. The petitioners, trade unions, argued that …

N.T.P.C. & ORSversusBADRI SINGH THAKUR & ORS.

2008 INSC 924Appeal(s) allowed

The petitioners, electricians employed through a contractor for the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), sought to be absorbed as workmen of the corporation, arguing that the Madhya Pradesh Industrial Relations Act, 1960 applied to them and that contract labour should be abolished. NTPC …

G.M. ONGC, SHILCHARversusONGC CONTRACTUAL WORKERS UNION

2008 INSC 706Dismissed

The Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) engaged a large number of workers through contractors for its drilling operations in Cachar. The ONGC Contractual Workers Union sought regularisation of these workers' services, leading the State Government to refer the dispute to an Industrial Tribunal. The …

FOOD CORPORATION OF INDIA & ANR.versusPALA RAM & ORS.

2008 INSC 721Disposed off

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) had earlier been subject to a 1976 Central Government notification prohibiting the employment of contract labour for sweeping, cleaning, dusting and watching of its buildings. In 1992 the Central Government withdrew that prohibition, raising the question of …

BHARAT HEAVY ELECTRICALS LTD.versusESI CORPORATION

2008 INSC 191Case Allowed

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL), a public sector undertaking, received a notice under Section 45A of the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 for non‑payment of ESI contributions for the period 1981‑1991. BHEL argued that the workers were employed by contractors and therefore sought to implead …

HIMMAT SINGH AND ORS.versusL.C.I. INDIA LTD. AND ORS.

2008 INSC 125Dismissed

The Indian Explosive Limited, a urea manufacturer, employed several licensed contractors who in turn engaged workers. The Fertilizer Workers Union sought regularisation of these workers under Rule 25(v)(a) of the Uttar Pradesh Contract Labour Rules, arguing they performed work similar to the …

MIS. BLHAR CAUSTIC & CHEMICALS LTD.versusKRIPA PANDEY

2008 INSC 71Case Partly allowed

Kripa Pandey worked as a driver in the Bihar Caustic & Chemicals Ltd. factory during its construction, being engaged by a contractor under the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970. He was terminated in September 1984 and claimed that the termination was illegal, seeking reinstatement …

HINDUSTAN PAPER CORPORATION LTD.versusKAGAJKAL THIKADAR SRAMIK UNION & ORS.

2007 INSC 1307Appeal(s) allowed

The Kagajkal Thikadar Sramik Union filed a representation under Rule 25(2)(v)(a) of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Assam Rules, 1971, seeking equal wages and benefits for contract labourers employed at Hindustan Paper Corporation Ltd. The Labour Commissioner, after an inspection by …

STEEL AUTHORITY OF INDIA LTD.versusUNION OF INDIA AND ORS.

2006 INSC 659Appeal(s) allowed

The Steel Authority of India Ltd., a government company, engaged contractors to manufacture steel, and workers employed by those contractors claimed they were permanent employees of the company and sought absorption. The State Government referred the dispute to a Labour Court under Section 10(1)(c) …

A.P.S.R.T.C. AND ORSversusG. SRINIVASA REDDY AND ORS.

2006 INSC 107

The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (AP SRTC) issued a 1988 circular allowing absorption of casual employees but expressly excluding contract labour. Several scavengers employed through contractors filed writ petitions seeking regularisation under the circular. The High Court, on …

EMPLOYERS IN RELATION TO THE MANAGEMENT OF SUDAMDIH COLLIERY OF M/S BHARAT COKING COAL LTD.versusTHEIR WORKMEN REPRESENTED BY RASHTRIYA COLLIERY MAZDOOR SANGH

2006 INSC 24Appeal(s) allowed

The Supreme Court examined two disputes referred by the Central Government under Section 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, concerning whether workers engaged through a contractor at Sudamdh Colliery were to be treated as workmen of the principal employer, Bharat Coking Coal Ltd. The Tribunal …

WORKMEN OF NILGIRI COOP. MKT. SOCIETY LTD.versusSTATE OF TAMIL NADU AND ORS.

2004 INSC 89Dismissed

The case concerned 407 porters and graders employed at the marketing yards of Nilgiri Cooperative Marketing Society Ltd., who claimed permanency and other benefits, alleging they were workmen of the Society. The State referred the dispute to the Industrial Tribunal to decide whether their …

RAM SINGH AND ORS.versusUNION TERRITORY, CHANDIGARH AND ORS.

2003 INSC 616Dismissed

The appellants, trained electricians employed by various contractors to maintain electricity at a government medical college and hospital in Chandigarh, sought regularisation of their services, arguing that the Engineering Department of the Chandigarh Administration exercised complete control over …

SARVA SHRAMIK SANGHversusMIS. INDIAN SMELTING AND REFINING CO. LTD. AND ORS.

2003 INSC 569Dismissed

The appellants, a workers' union, challenged a complaint filed under the Maharashtra Recognition of Trade Unions and Prevention of Unfair Labour Practices Act, 1971, arguing that the employer‑employee relationship with the principal employer was disputed and should be decided under the Industrial …

A.I. RAILWAY PARCEL & GOODS PORTERS UNIONversusUNION OF INDIA AND ORS.

2003 INSC 412Disposed off

The All India Railway Parcel & Goods Porters Union sought the regularisation of parcel porters employed on a contract basis, arguing that the work is permanent and perennial and that earlier Supreme Court directions required their absorption as permanent employees. The Railway Administration …

MISHRA DHATU NIGAM LTD. ETC. ETC.versusM. VENKATAIAH AND ORS. ETC. ETC.

2003 INSC 384Dismissed

A group of canteen workers employed through a contractor filed writ petitions seeking to be regularised as employees of Mishra Dhatunigam Ltd. and other respondents, invoking the statutory duty under the Factories Act to provide a canteen. The Andhra Pradesh High Court allowed the writs, directing …

NATIONAL THERMAL POWER CORPORATION LTD.versusKARRI POTHURAJU AND ORS.

2003 INSC 386Dismissed

National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd. (NTPC), a public sector undertaking, was statutorily obligated under Section 46 of the Factories Act, 1948 to provide a canteen for its employees. The canteen was operated by contractors, employing about 54 workers. The workers filed a writ petition seeking …

M/S. BHARAT HEAVY ELECTRICAL LTD.versusSTATE OF U.P. AND ORS.

2003 INSC 324Dismissed

Gardeners were engaged through an agency to maintain lawns within the premises of Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd (the appellant). Their services were terminated and they raised an industrial dispute, claiming reinstatement and compensation under Section 6‑N of the Uttar Pradesh Industrial Disputes Act, …

MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OF GREATER MUMBAIversusK.V. SHRAMIK SANGH AND ORS.

2002 INSC 195Appeal(s) allowed

The K.V. Shramik Sangh, a trade union representing contract workers in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation's solid waste management department, filed a writ petition seeking abolition of the contract labour system and absorption of the workers as permanent employees, alleging that the contracts were …

BHARAT PETROLEUM CORPORATION LTD.versusMUMBAI SHRAMIK SANGHA AND ORS .

2001 INSC 224Hearing Adjourned

In Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. v. Mumbai Shramik Sangha (2001), a civil appeal arose from a Bombay High Court order concerning the scope of Section 10 of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970. Two learned judges of the Supreme Court expressed doubt about the correctness of …

CIPLA LTD.versusMAHARASHTRA GENERAL KAMGAR UNION AND ORS.

2001 INSC 100

Cipla Ltd employed cleaning staff through a contractor and routinely terminated them after eleven months to avoid granting permanent status. The Maharashtra General Kamgar Union filed a complaint under Section 28 of the Maharashtra Recognition of Trade Unions & Prevention of Unfair Labour Practices …

INDIAN AIRPORTS EMPLOYEES UNIONversusRANJAN CHATERJEE AND ANR.

1999 INSC 31Dismissed

The Indian Airports Employees Union filed a contempt petition alleging that the airport authority failed to regularise six sweepers employed in the car‑parking area despite a Supreme Court direction to regularise sweepers after the abolition of contract labour. The respondents contended that the six …

AIR INDIA STATUTORY CORPORATIONversusUNITED LABOUR UNION AND ORS.

1996 INSC 1442

The Air India Statutory Corporation, originally a statutory authority and later a company, employed union members as contract labour for cleaning and related services. The Central Government, as the appropriate Government under the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, issued a 1976 …

HINDUSTAN STEELWORKS CONSTRUCTION LTD.versusTHE COMMISSIONER OF LABOUR AND ORS.

1996 INSC 987Appeal(s) allowed

Hindustan Steelworks Construction Ltd., a government company registered as a principal employer under the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, engaged M/s Investigation and Security Services India Pvt. Ltd. as a licensed contractor to supply security staff. The contractor paid the …

R.K. PANDA AND ORS.versusSTEEL AUTHORITY OF INDIA AND ORS.

1994 INSC 205Appeal(s) allowed

The petitioners, contract labourers employed through various contractors at SAIL's Rourkela plant for 10‑20 years, filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking parity in pay and absorption as regular employees, alleging that the contractor arrangement was a camouflage to deny them rights. The …

DENA NATH AND ORS.versusNATIONAL FERTILIZERS LTD. AND ORS.

1991 INSC 314Dismissed

The Supreme Court considered appeals filed by Dena Nath and others against National Fertilizers Ltd. The issue was whether failure by a principal employer to obtain registration under Section 7 of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, or by a contractor to obtain a licence under …

JAMSHEDPUR CONTRACTORS' WORKERS' UNIONversusSTATE OF BIHAR AND ORS.

1990 INSC 249Disposed off

Contract workers employed by Tata Iron and Steel Company, Jamshedpur, performed permanent and regular tasks before 11‑Feb‑1981 and sought permanent employment with the principal employer. The Bihar Government referred the dispute to the Industrial Tribunal under s.10 of the Industrial Disputes Act. …

SANKAR MUKHERJEE AND ORS.versusUNION OF INDIA AND ORS.

1989 INSC 350Case Allowed

The West Bengal Government, under Section 10(1) of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, issued a notification on 9 February 1980 prohibiting contract labour in several departments of M/s Indian Iron & Steel Co. Ltd., but expressly excluded the job of loading and unloading bricks …

FOOD CORPORATION OF INDIAversusPROVIDENT FUND COMMISSIONER AND ANR.

1989 INSC 328Appeal(s) allowed

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) was directed by the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) Commissioner to deposit contributions for workers employed by contractors at its depots in Rajasthan. FCI contended that it was denied a reasonable opportunity to produce evidence identifying those workers …

FOOD CORPORATION OF INDIA WORKERS' UNIONversusFOOD CORPORATION OF INDIA AND OTHERS

1985 INSC 46Case Allowed

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) employs contract labour through contractors. Contract labourers, organized by the Food Corporation of India Workers' Union, filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking departmentalisation or, alternatively, the extension of benefits under the Contract Labour …

WORKMEN OF THE FOOD CORPORATION OF INDIAversusM/S. FOOD CORPORATION OF INDIA

1985 INSC 40Appeal(s) allowed

The case concerned 464 labourers at the Food Corporation of India's Siliguri depot who were originally employed through a contractor. In 1973 the corporation abolished the contractor and introduced a direct payment system, paying wages directly to the workers via Sardar/Mondal agents. The …

BANDHUA MUKTI MORCHAversusUNION OF INDIA & OTHERS

1983 INSC 203Disposed off

The petition, filed by a social welfare organisation, alleged that thousands of migrant workers in stone quarries and crushers in Faridabad were subjected to inhuman conditions, forced labour and bondage, violating their fundamental rights under Articles 21 and 23 of the Constitution. The Court …

LABOURERS WORKING ON SALAL HYDRO-PROJECTversusSTATE OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND OTHERS

1983 INSC 18Appeal(s) allowed

A news report prompted the People's Union for Democratic Rights to file a writ petition alleging that migrant labourers on the Salal Hydro‑Electric Project were denied statutory benefits. The Supreme Court examined reports of the Labour Commissioner, which revealed that the project, executed by the …

PEOPLE'S UNION FOR DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS AND OTHERSversusUNION OF INDIA & OTHERS

1982 INSC 67Case Allowed

The People's Union for Democratic Rights filed a public‑interest writ petition alleging that contractors engaged in the construction of Asian Games projects in Delhi were violating multiple labour statutes, including the Minimum Wages Act, Equal Remuneration Act, Contract Labour (Regulation and …