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Judgment
The Petitioners are 131 Security Guards engaged at the work premises of the Odisha Power Generation Corporation Limited (OPGCL) (Opposite Party No.3). This is the third round of litigation concerning their prayer for regularization of their services.
Earlier in OJC No. 6416 of 2002 filed by these Petitioners an order had been passed by this Court on 6th February, 2010 pursuant to which the State Advisory Committee under the Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act, 1970 (CLRA Act) decided at a meeting held on 22nd September, 2010 that the State Govt. will be moved for “non-abolition of the contract labour system” in respect of the 131 security guards. The result is that for the purpose of Section 10 of the CLRA Act, the Petitioners would continue to be only contract labour and cannot claim any regularization. Accordingly, in the present writ petition, the first prayer is for quashing the above decision of the State Advisory Board; the consequential prayer is for regularizing their services after abolition of the contract labour system.
Although a reply has been filed by the OPGCL, no reply has been filed till date by the State Govt.
Considering the nature of the controversy in the present petition, the Court considers it essential for the State Govt. to explain the basis on which it decided not to abolish the system of contract labour in OPGCL. In this context, the Court would like to refer to the minutes of the meeting of the State Advisory Board where it is sought to be opined that “watch and ward/security services of the industry is not a regular/perennial nature of work”. Considering that the present Petitioners have themselves being performing those tasks for more than two decades now, the State Govt. will have to explain how an opinion was formed that such work was not “offer, regular/perennial nature”.
Reply of the State Govt. be filed within eight weeks.
List on 10th May, 2023 in the regular list.
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