The judgment emphasizes the need for concrete evidence and justifiable grounds before seeking relief under Section 10(2) of the CLRA Act, highlighting the importance of a decision by the appropriate government for regularization of employment.

1. The petitioners have preferred the present petition under Article 226 of Constitution of India seeking directions to restrain respondent No.1 from disengaging the petitioners from their services till the decision/ disposal of the petition under Section 10(2) of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 (hereinafter referred to as ‘CLRA Act’) filed by the petitioners, which is pending before respondent No.3, Central Advisory Contract Labour Board, New Delhi.

2. Succinctly stating, the facts as borne out from the petition are that the petitioners are working as workers with the respondent No.1 without any break for a long period of time. Respondent No.1 keeps on changing the nomenclature of the petitioners. The contractors of respondent No.1 are appointed on the basis of license of surveyors. The petitioners, though, are working for respondent No.1, the contractors who actually do not have the license for keeping the petitioners are being used by respondent No.1 to show that the petitioners are employees of those contractors. For the period 2002-2003, ‘Unique Marine Services’ was the contractor for respondent No.1 for allegedly engaging the petitioners for the work of respondent No.1. During the period 2003-2008 the work of surveyor was given to the contractor namely ‘Master Marine Company’. The work of equipment operators was given to the contractor namely ‘Computec Ltd.’. After 2008 till 2010 the petitioners were managed by the contractor by the name of ‘Metcalfe & Hodgkinson Pvt. Ltd.’, which has the license of surveyor and not for equipment operators. Further, from the period 2010-2011, a company by the name of ‘Concept Marine Pvt. Ltd.’ which had a license of surveyor was used for employing the petitioners by the respondent No.1. However, the said company had abandoned respondent No.1. For the period for which the petitioners worked for respondent No.1, it paid the salaries directly to the workers. Further, in the year 2011 a company by the name of ‘Icon Marine’ was kept by respondent No.1 for sometime, which was essentially a sham company and did not have requisite legal existence. From 2011 till 2015 the contract has been given to ‘Metcalfe & Hodgkinson Pvt. Ltd.’ which has the license of surveyor. The respondent No.1 is using the said company for the workers, although the said company has been essentially kept for the purposes of the surveyor. The petitioners are working with respondent No.1 since 2002-2003.

3. The petitioners moved an application under Section 10(2) of the CLRA Act before respondent No.3, which was duly acknowledged on 14.03.2014 by the office of the Director General, Labour and Welfare, Central Advisory Contract Labour Board, New Delhi. The petitioner has come to know that respondent No.3. has already initiated measures for formation of a Committee which will work on the feasibility of recommendation of abolition of contract labour in the work sphere of the petitioners. The petitioners have also come to know that respondent No.1 is in the process of removing the petitioners from their services on one or the other grounds. Under such circumstances, the petitioners have preferred the present petition.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioners urged that the petitioners are working with respondent No.1 continuously and despite the change of contractors, the petitioners continue to work with respondent No.1. All the petitioners have a login Id which can be traced down to their initial appointment with respondent No.1. The petitioners also have the gate passes issued by respondents, which can be traced back from the period 2002-2003.

5. Learned counsel for the petitioners further submitted that the work carried out by the petitioners is necessary for the functioning of the respondent organization. The containers of respondent No.1 are managed, filled, maintained and preserved by the petitioners. The work carried out by the petitioners is perennial in nature and they work in three shif