In Brief
The Supreme Court examined whether a State's reference of a dispute to the Labour Court was valid when the same dispute had already been finally decided in earlier litigation up to the Supreme Court. The Court held that res judicata principles prevent a Labour Court from re-adjudicating issues that have been concluded against trade unions in final judgments. Consequently, the references made to the Labour Court lacked jurisdiction and could not proceed. The Court allowed the appeals, set aside the impugned orders, and restored the Labour Court awards from the earlier proceedings.",
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