BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT

DATED : 10.11.2025

CORAM :

THE HON`BLE MR.JUSTICE B.PUGALENDHI

and

WMP.(MD)No.18032 of 2021

Manonmaniam Sundaranar University

Rep by its Registrar,

Tirunelveli 627012

Tirunelveli District. ... Petitioner

Vs.

S.Sankaravalli ... Respondent Prayer : Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying for the issuance of Writ of Certiorari, to call for the records relating to the impugned award dated 07.05.2021 passed by the Labour Court, Tirunelveli in

I.D.No.19 of 2019 and quash the same as illegal.

For Petitioner : Mr.Ajmal Khan,

Additional Advocate General,

Assisted by

Mr.Jasmin Yasmin

For Respondent : Mr.D.Saravanan

ORDER

Manonmaniam Sundaranar University has filed this writ petition as against the award passed by the Labour Court, Tirunelveli in I.D.No.19 of 2019 dated 07.05.2021.

2.The above said industrial dispute was raised by the respondent herein under Sections 2A(2) and 2(ra) of the Industrial Dispute Act to set aside the oral order of termination dated 29.08.2018 and to reinstate her with backwages and other attendnt benefits. The Labour Court by its award dated 07.05.2021 has partly allowed the industrial dispute by setting aside the termination order dated 29.08.2018 and directed the University to reinstate the respondent with backwages, within a period of three months from the date of the award. Aggrieved by this award, the University has preferred the present writ petition.

3.The case of the respondent before the Labour Court was that she was engaged as NMR in the petitioner/University, on 09.09.2014 and she was paid Rs.220/- per day as wages from 09.09.2014 to March 2015. Then, she was paid Rs.10,000/- per month as consolidated pay from April 2015. While so, she was terminated from service on 29.08.2018. Therefore, she has raised the industrial dispute, after the conciliation report of the Assistant Commissioner of Labour, Tirunelveli and the same was allowed as stated supra.

4.The case of the petitioner is that the respondent was engaged as unskilled NMR in the petitioner/University as Office Assistant, on 09.09.2014, on daily wage basis. She was not appointed through employment exchange and she was not having any qualification as per the statutes of the University. The other skilled and unskilled employees, who have been engaged like the respondent, were also terminated and the respondent was terminated along with 43 skilled NMRs, on

29.08.2018.

5.The learned Additional Advocate General appearing for the University by relying on the orders of this Court in WP(MD)Nos.16673 to 16678 of 2023 dated 14.10.2025, submits that the Tamil Nadu Industrial Establishment (Conferment of Permanent Status to Workmen) Act, 1981 would not be applicable for the employees of the University and this Court has already passed a similar order in WP(MD)Nos.16673 to 16678 of 2023 by referring to the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court and the order passed by this Court. He also submits that similarly placed persons, who have been engaged as NMR in the University, have filed writ petitions before this Court as against the disengagement memo dated 28.08.2018 in WP.(MD)Nos.19209 of 2019 etc., batch and this Court by its order dated 02.07.2019 has disposed of those writ petitions with a direction to the University to consider the case of the NMR employees to engage them in any of the vacancies in the University. The request of all these similarly placed employees was rejected by the University and therefore, further litigations have been raised before this Court in another batch of writ petitions in WP.(MD)No.25693 of 2019 etc., batch and this Court has rejected those writ petitions by its order dated 11.04.2022. Yet another writ petitions in WP.(MD)Nos.5436 & 5438 of 2020 filed by the similar employees were also rejected by this Court by an order dated 19.12.2022 that they are not filled up by public employment by way of notification. However, this Court has directed the University to provi