Summary
The Supreme Court set aside remand of ONGC contractual-workers’ disputes to the Industrial Tribunal and required the High Court Division Bench to decide the writ appeals on merits. The Tribunal’s awards and the Single Judge’s detailed analysis already addressed the relevant aspects, leaving hardly any further matter for Tribunal adjudication. The Division Bench should examine the correctness of the Single Judge’s view rather than send the disputes back. The Supreme Court did not itself finally decide entitlement to regularisation.
Issues
- Whether the Division Bench should remand the industrial disputes or determine the writ appeals on the existing adjudication.
Held
- On examination of the awards and the Single Judge’s detailed reasoning, the Court found the relevant matters meticulously considered and hardly any scope for further Tribunal adjudication. The Division Bench’s role in the intra-court writ appeals was primarily to test the correctness of the Single Judge’s view. (¶¶ 4, 5, 8)
- The Tribunal-remand judgments were set aside and the matters returned to the High Court Division Bench for expeditious merits decisions, preferably within six months. The Supreme Court did not substitute a final determination of the workers’ claims. (¶¶ 9, 10, 11, 12)
Result
Appeals disposed of; Division Bench judgments set aside and writ appeals remitted to it for merits decisions, preferably within six months. Pending applications disposed of; no costs.