The Hindu : New Delhi News : Supreme Court declines to interfere with interim order

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Tuesday, Sep 25, 2007
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New Delhi

New Delhi

Supreme Court declines to interfere with interim order

J. Venkatesan

Asks High Court to dispose of petition

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to interfere with an interim order of the Madras High Court permitting the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board to regularise the services of 21,600 contract labourers as per the August 10 settlement.

A Bench of Justice A.K. Mathur and Justice Markandey Katju dismissed special leave petitions filed by ‘ITI Paditha Velai Vaipatror Nala Sangam’ and K. Subramani, challenging the September 6 order. The Bench, however, said all appointments/ absorption/regularisation made by the Board would be subject to the outcome of the writ petition pending in the High Court.

The Bench asked the High Court to dispose of the writ petition in three months.

Through the backdoor

Appearing for the petitioners, senior counsel L. Nageswara Rao and C.S. Vaidyanathan told the Bench that the High Court order would result in absorption of 21,600 contract labourers, and as a first step, 6,000 workers had been absorbed by September 15. Such recruitment/absorption through the backdoor was contrary to the rules.

Industrial peace

The Bench asked the petitioners how the agreement, which the Board had struck with the unions to bring peace to the organisation, would affect them.

The Bench said: “Any way, these contract labourers are working in the Board for several years. If you want to recruit helpers through advertisement, over 5,000 persons would turn up. Can you make appointments this way? We can protect your interest by ordering that appointments would be subject to the result of the writ petition.”

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