In Brief
This judgment arises from five appeals by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and workers challenging High Court judgments on the regularisation of temporary contract workers. The Court held that the two-judge decision in PCLU, which found that temporary workers completing 240 days of service had a statutory right to regularisation under ONGC's Certified Standing Orders, required reconsideration. The Court identified three key issues requiring a larger bench: (1) the correct interpretation of the Standing Orders; (2) the definition of unfair labour practice; and (3) the applicability of Umadevi principles limiting regularisation where no sanctioned posts exist. The judgment clarified that regularisation can only be directed where similarly situated workers were regularised under a scheme, making deprivation discriminatory, or where unfair labour practice is established with the specific intent to deprive workers of permanent status.
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