ASIA PRIVATE LIMITED BANGALORE Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ALL these petitions have been filed invoking the jurisdiction of this court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India challenging the constitutionality of the proviso to Section 1 (4) of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act')on the ground that it offends the fundamental rights of the petitioners guaranteed under Articles 14, 19 (l) (d) and 19 (l) (g) of the Constitution of india. The constitutional objection adverted is common to all the writ petitions. All the petitioners have challenged the notification dated 1st of July, 1992 issued by the 2nd respondent-State of Karnataka vide annexure-A making the provisions of the Act applicable to every establishment and every contractor, who employs less than 20 workmen on the ground that there is a transgression by the State of the limits laid down and it is the case whether the power exercised is excessive and unreasonable.

(2.) TO appreciate the grounds on which the contentions are sought to be sustained, it is necessary to set out briefly a few facts and I feel that it is sufficient to refer to the facts of the case in Writ Petition Nos. 2402 to 2419 of 1993, which is typical of other connected cases. Petitioner No. 18 is an Association of various Security and Allied Services operating in the State of Karnataka of which petitioners at Sl. Nos. 1 to 17 are members, who are engaged in the activity of taking on contract work of security and other allied services. The petitioners, under contract, provide security services and other allied services to various companies, institutions, business organisations, residential houses, hotels, nursing homes, multistoried buildings, clubs, banks, insurance companies, factories etc. The petitioners engage security guards, and security supervisors to carry out the work under the Contract.

(3.) THE Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, is a central enactment promulgated to regulate the employment of contract, labour in certain establishments and to provide for its abolition in certain circumstances and for matters connected therewith. Section 1 (4) of the Act, makes the Act applicable to every establishment in which 20 or more workmen are employed or were employed on any day of the preceding 12 months as contract labour, and to every contractor, who employs or who employed on any day of the preceding 12 months, 20 or more workmen. This sub-section has a proviso which empowers the appropriate Government to apply the provisions of the Act to any establishment or contractor employing such number of workmen less than 20 as may be specified in the notification. Establishment in which work only of an intermittent or casual nature is performed, has been excluded from the applicability of the Act.