Challenge to competency of Full Bench to hear question of law.

SRINIVASAN, J.

Introduction : By an order of reference dated April 23, 1992, a Division Bench referred seven of the above writ petitions to a larger Bench. The Honourable the Chief Justice constituted this Bench for hearing the cases. The matters were listed for orders on April 30, 1992 and with the consent of counsel, we fixed the date of hearing as June 22, 1992. At the instance of counsel appearing in the other writ petitions, the Honourable the Chief Justice directed those matters also to be posted before us as the questions involved are common. When the matters were heard, 18 writ petitions were posted in all for hearing. In the course of the hearing, it was pointed out that several writ petitions had been filed for similar reliefs by persons in similar position after the Division Bench heard the matters and reserved orders and before it made the order of reference. Counsel had no objection to our passing orders on those writ petitions too, as no further argument was involved. The detailed particulars of all the writ petitions covered by this judgment are set out in the first part of this judgment. 2. II. History : It will be convenient to refer to the facts chronologically before setting out the questions which arise for our consideration. In May, 1985, the Central Government constituted a National Industrial Tribunal presided over by Dr. Justice D. R. Tulpule and referred the following matter for its consideration :

"What should be the wages and other conditions of service of Badli, Temporary and Part time Workmen of the Life Insurance Corporation of India, as well as the conditions in their absorption in their regular cadre ?"

It was taken on file as Reference No. N.T.B. 1 of 1985 under Sec. 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act. Initially, the western Zone Insurance Employees' Association, Bombay and Central Zone National Life Insurance Corporation Employees' Association, Kanpur were alone parties to the references, besides Life Insurance Corporation of India. Subsequently, all the Unions of all the Regions and the Zones in the country were joined as parties and they filed statements putting forth their claims. Thus, the reference covered the entire country. An interim award was passed by the Tribunal in a prayer for restraining the Life Insurance Corporation of India (hereinafter referred to as 'the L.I.C. '), from recruiting or absorbing any person without the prior permission of the Tribunal. As per the Interim Award, L.I.C. was restrained from making any new appointment except where persons had to be appointed over and above the then existing vacancies against which the concerned workmen who were working or had worked with the L.I.C. in their capacity as Badlis, Temporary or Part-time workmen and who would be concerned in the reference had to be appointed and that where an employee was appointed from amongst the Badli, Temporary or Part-time workmen against any vacancy, he would have to be continued as long as the vacancy continued, provided an undertaking was given that no benefit would be claimed. If by that circumstances, he continued to be in a position for more than 85 days, it was directed that the workmen concerned shall give an undertaking that they would not claim any benefit on account of such continuation for a period of more than 85 days, if it occurred, for absorption or any other benefit and subject to that he may be continued. Ultimately, the Tribunal passed an award on April 17, 1986. It was held that only those workmen who had worked during the period January 1, 1982 to May 20 1985 (date of reference to the Tribunal) be considered as eligible for absorption and that a workman claiming absorption in a Class III post should have worked for 85 days in a period of two years and a workman claiming absorption in Class IV post should have worked for 70 days in a period of three years. It was held that the calculation of number of days of work should be upto the date of reference. The L.I.C. was di