A.KAMALAKANNAN Vs. MANAGEMENT OF AIR INDIA LTD.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These three Writ Appeals arise out of the common judgment passed by a learned Single Judge of this Court. The grievance of the appellants in all the Writ Appeals are same. The appellants were employed under the first respondent company - AIR India Limited, as casual labourers to collect baggage from the passengers at the check-in-counter and to collect cargo at cargo section etc. They were given employment for 110 days and after artificial break-in-service, again they were engaged to work, to circumvent the rigour of Tamil Nadu Industrial Establishment Conferment & Permanent Status to Workmen Act.

(2.) When an industrial dispute was raised in I.D.Nos.22 and 34/1991 against illegal termination of 39 and 82 casual workers respectively and to decide, "Whether denial of continuous employment to 114 casual labourers is justifiable?". The Industrial Tribunal vide its award dated 15.05.1997 suggested the particulars of workmen regularised those who are awaiting regularisation and new persons engaged in the place of petitioner are not available. Hence, to avoid any hardship to those who are not parties to the proceedings it is better to evolve a scheme to fit in these workmen in the list of regularised workmen and it would be justifiable to regularise the services of 39 workmen concerned in I.D. No. 22/1991 and 82 among the 114 workmen in I.D.No.39/1991.

(3.) It appears that subsequently on 07.06.1999, a settlement was arrived at between the Management and the Union and few of the casual labourers were given benefit while rest were not regularised and when the same was challenged in a batch of writ petitions in W.P.Nos.15915, 15916, 16405 of 1999 etc., learned Single Judge dismissed it. On appeal, Division Bench of this Court in W.A.Nos.399 to 421 of 2000 dated 10.07.2007, following the judgment of the Hon'ble Apex Court rendered in Gujarat Agricultural University v. Rathod Labhu Bachar (2001 (3) SCC 574) directed the Management to frame a scheme, within a period of six weeks and absorb such employees under a Scheme in a phased manner. The Special Leave Petitions filed by the Management against the common judgment of the Division Bench were dismissed on 18.02.2014.