The Central Government is the appropriate government in respect of the Airports Authority of India for the purpose of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 and the notification dated 9th December 1976 issued by the Central Government under section 10(1) of the Act prohibiting the employment of contract labour for sweeping, cleaning, and dusting of buildings owned or occupied by establishments in respect of which the appropriate government is the Central Government is applicable to the Airports Authority of India.

Headnote:
CONTRACT LABOUR - AIRPORTS AUTHORITY OF INDIA - APPROPRIATE GOVERNMENT - NOTIFICATION PROHIBITING EMPLOYMENT OF CONTRACT LABOUR - APPLICABILITY - RELIEF TO WORKMEN. The Central Government is the appropriate government in respect of the Airports Authority of India for the purpose of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970. The notification dated 9th December 1976 issued by the Central Government under section 10(1) of the Act prohibiting the employment of contract labour for sweeping, cleaning, and dusting of buildings owned or occupied by establishments in respect of which the appropriate government is the Central Government is applicable to the Airports Authority of India. The letter dated 3rd April 1992 issued by the Deputy Secretary to the Government of India stating that the Central Government had decided not to prohibit employment of contract labour for sweeping, cleaning, dusting and watching of the buildings owned or occupied by the establishments of the Airports Authority of India is quashed. The workmen employed by the Airports Authority of India for sweeping, cleaning and dusting of the buildings owned or occupied by it are entitled to be absorbed in the regular cadre of employees of the Airports Authority of India subject to availability of posts, seniority and other relevant factors. The workmen so absorbed are entitled to all the benefits of the emoluments and conditions of service applicable to the regular workmen in the same cadre.
Fact of the Case:

The petitioner, Indian Airports Employees Union, filed a petition challenging the employment of contract labour by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for sweeping, cleaning and dusting of the buildings owned by the AAI. The petitioner contended that the Central Government was the appropriate government in respect of the AAI and that the notification dated 9th December 1976 issued by the Central Government under section 10(1) of the Contract Labour Act, 1970 prohibiting the employment of contract labour was applicable to the AAI. The AAI contended that the State Government was the appropriate government in respect of the AAI and that the notification was not applicable to it.
Finding of the Court:

The Court held that the Central Government was the appropriate government in respect of the AAI for the purpose of the Contract Labour Act, 1970. The Court also held that the notification dated 9th December 1976 issued by the Central Government under section 10(1) of the Act prohibiting the employment of contract labour for sweeping, cleaning, and dusting of buildings owned or occupied by establishments in respect of which the appropriate government is the Central Government was applicable to the AAI. The Court further held that the letter dated 3rd April 1992 issued by the Deputy Secretary to the Government of India stating that the Central Government had decided not to prohibit employment of contract labour for sweeping, cleaning, dusting and watching of the buildings owned or occupied by the establishments of the AAI was quashed.
Issues: 1. Whether the Central Government is the appropriate government in respect of the Airports Authority of India for the purpose of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970? 2. Whether the notification dated 9th December 1976 issued by the Central Government under section 10(1) of the Act prohibiting the employment of contract labour for sweeping, cleaning, and dusting of buildings owned or occupied by establishments in respect of which the appropriate government is the Central Government is applicable to the Airports Authority of India? 3. Whether the letter dated 3rd April 1992 issued by the Deputy Secretary to the Government of India stating that the Central Government had decided not to prohibit employment of contract labour for sweeping, cleaning, dusting and watching of the buildings owned or occupied by the establishments of the Airports Authority of India is valid?
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The Airports Authority of India is an instrumentality or agency of the Central Government and hence, for the purpose of section 2(1)(a) of the Contract Labour Act, the appropriate government in respect of the Airports Authority is the Central Government. 2. The notification dated 9th December 1976 issued by the Central Government under section 10(1) of the Contract Labour Act, 1970 prohibiting the employment of contract labour for sweeping, cleaning, and dusting of buildings owned or occupied by establishments in respect of which the appropriate government is the Central Government is applicable to the Airports Authority of India. 3. The letter dated 3rd April 1992 issued by the Deputy Secretary to the Government of India stating that the Central Government had decided not to prohibit employment of contract labour for sweeping, cleaning, dusting and watching of the buildings owned or occupied by the establishments of the Airports Authority of India is quashed.
Final Decision: The Court directed the Airports Authority of India to absorb the workmen employed by it for sweeping, cleaning and dusting of the buildings owned or occupied by it in the regular cadre of employees of the Airports Authority of India subject to availability of posts, seniority and other relevant factors. The workmen so absorbed are entitled to all the benefits of the emoluments and conditions of service applicable to the regular workmen in the same cadre.

JUDGMENT - A.V. SAVANT, J.:---This petition has been taken up for final hearing out of turn pursuant to the directions issued by the Honble Supreme Court.

2. The petitioner is Indian Airports Employees Union, which is a registered Trade Union. The first respondent is the International Airports Authority of India (for short, Airports Authority), which is a statutory Authority set up under the provisions of International Airports Authority of India Act, 1971 (for short Airports Authority Act). The second respondent is the Union of India which has issued the notification at Exh. "B" dated 9th December 1976 for enforcing which, relief has been sought by the petitioner-Union. The third respondent is the Regional Labour Commissioner, whereas the fourth respondent is the concerned labour contractor. The petitioner-Union seeks relief by way of mandamus restraining the first respondent - Airports Authority from engaging contract labour in so far as the work of sweeping, cleaning and dusting of the building owned by the Airports Authority viz. the new domestic Terminal 1A, at Santacruz, Bombay. The petitioner further seeks relief of declaration that the notification at Exh. "B" dated 9th December, 1976 issued by the second respondent prohibiting the employment of contract labour on and from 1st March, 1977, for sweeping, cleaning and dusting of building owned or occupied by the establishments in respect of which the appropriate Government under the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 (for short, the Contract Labour Act) is the Central Government, is applicable to the Airports Authority. Consequently, the petitioner also seeks quashing of the letter dated 3rd April, 1992 at Exh. "E" issued by the Deputy Secretary, Government of India, to the effect that the Central Government had decided not to prohibit employment of contract labour in sweeping, cleaning and dusting of the building owned or occupied by the establishments of the first respondent - Airports Authority. The controversy arises in the following circumstances.

3. The first respondent Airports Authority has been constituted in accordance with the provisions of the said Airports Authority Act, 1971. Under section 2(1)(a) of the said Contract Labour Act, 1970, as it stood prior to its amendment of 1986, the words "appropriate Government" meant-

"2.(1).....

(a) "appropriate Government" means,--

(1) in relation to --

(i) any establishment pertaining to any industry carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government, or pertaining to any such controlled industry as may be specified in this behalf by the Central Government, or

(ii) any establishment of any railway, Cantonment Board, major port, mine or oilfield, or

(iii) any establishment of a banking or insurance company,

the Central Government,

(2) in relation to any other establishment, the Government of the State in which that other establishment is situated;"

After amendment of 1986, which came into force with effect from 28th January 1986, section 2(1) of the Contract Labour Act, in so far as it is material, reads as under:-

"2. (1) ....

(a) "appropriate Government" means-

(i) in relation to an establishment in respect of which the appropriate Government under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, is the Central Government, the Central Government;

(ii) in relation to any other establishment, the Government of the State in which that other establishment is situated;"

It is also relevant to note that the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 was amended in 1982 and with effect from 21st August 1984, section 2(a) in so far as it is material, reads as under:-

"(a) "appropriate Government" means-

(i) in relation to any industrial dispute concerning any industry carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government, or by a railway company or concerning any such controlled industry as may be specified in this behalf by the Central Government or .....the International Airports Authority of India constituted under sec

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1995 Supreme(Bom) 230

Cases Referred (2)

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