Common Order:

I. - The issue

Whether the entitlement of contract labourers for gratuity can be dislodged or denied on account of tussle between the principal employer, who engaged the service of the contract labourers and the contractor, who employed the contract labourers is the issue that is projected for our consideration in these batch of writ petitions.

II. - Order under challenge

2. The petitioner has challenged the common order passed by the first respondent/Appellate Authority dated 29.2.2000 modifying the order of the second respondent/Controlling Authority, questioning the liability of the petitioner to the workmen, who are the contesting respondents herein, under the provisions of the Payment of Gratuity Act, under the following facts and circumstances of the case.

3. In this common order, the first and second respondent will be referred to as the appellate authority and the controlling authority respectively and the sixth respondent in each writ petitions will be referred to as 'the claimants' and the other parties will be referred to as the petitioner and respective respondents, for the sake of convenience.

III. Backdrop of the case

4.1. The petitioner is a compan