Supreme Court quashes Kerala High Court order to regularise casual plant attenders at MILMA

The Supreme Court recently set aside orders passed by the Kerala High Court in 2017-2018 which had called for steps to regularise the appointment of certain casual labourers as plant feeders at MILMA, a cooperative society that sells milk and milk products [Ernakulam Regional Cooperative Milk Producers Union Ltd Etc vs Nithu and ors]..A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah observed that the High Court had lost sight of the fact that the appropriate remedy was the one provided under the Industrial Disputes Act (ID Act). The Court pointed out that there were disputed questions of fact that went to the root of the case, which were better adjudicated by the competent authority under the ID Act. "In our opinion, all the aforesaid questions would fall in the realm of disputed questions of fact that would have required evidence to be lead and proper assessment and adjudication before an appropriate authority which in the instant case, even as per the respondents-writ petitioners, would have been a remedy available under the ID Act," the bench explained..The Court was dealing with an appeal filed by the Ernakulam Regional Cooperative Milk Producers Union (a society which is a member of MILMA) challenging a January 2018 Kerala High Court judgment. In the said judgment, the Managing Director of the society had been ordered to prepare a list of casual labourers engaged by the society, so that the Director of the Kerala Dairy Development Department could regularise their services as plant attenders. .The dispute concerned certain labourers engaged as plant attenders by the society through recruitment notifications issued in 1992 and 2010. After the society issued a recruitment notification in 2011 with a view to engage plant feeders, these labourers moved the Kerala High Court to oppose the move. A single-judge of the Kerala High Court, and later a division bench of the High Court, ruled in favour of the labourers. This was challenged by the society before the Supreme Court. .Pertinently, the society disputed the labourers' contention that they had worked for around 240 days continuously and were thus entitled to the regularisation of their services as per the ID Act. The society claimed that there were breaks in their services and that none of these labourers had worked for more than 200 days in a calendar year. The society also maintained that the labourers were well aware that they were not entitled to permanent service..The Supreme Court found that these were disputed questions of fact which should have first been decided by the authority under the ID Act."The learned Single Judge appears to have got swayed by the judgement in the case of Umadevi ... to hold that the respondents - writ petitioners had put in service for over two decades and were therefore entitled to be regularized in terms of the directions issued in the said decision, unmindful of the fact that the appellant-Society had categorically refuted the plea," the top court observed..The Court also found that as per earlier circulars, the original writ petitioners (casual/ contract labourers) were members of the society and their dependents only. "This itself runs contrary to the very spirit of Article 16 of the Constitution of India," the Supreme Court remarked. The Court further noted that if the stance of society is to be believed, it would mean that it was not a case where the labourers were irregularly appointment", but a case of "illegal appointments" (which cannot be regularised). .The top court proceeded to allow the society's appeal and gave the casual workers liberty to pursue remedies under the ID Act. In the interim, those continuing in service with the society shall not be disturbed for six months, the Court added. .Senior Advocate Chander Uday Singh with advocate EMS Anam appeared for the appellants (society).Advocates Kaleeswaram Raj, Thulasi K Raj, Aparna Menon and Suvidutt MS appeared for the private respondents (casual workers).Advocates CK Sasi and Meena K Poulose appeared for the State of Kerala..[Read order]