The Uttarakhand High Court has delivered a significant ruling, overturning a 31-year-old government notification that had previously prohibited the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Limited from hiring contract workers.
Justice Pankaj Purohit, presiding over a single-judge Bench, declared the notification—originally issued by the Central government on September 8, 1994—as invalid. The court determined that the notification was enacted without adhering to the mandatory consultation procedures outlined in Section 10 of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970.
ONGC had initiated the challenge against this notification, arguing that a crucial step was missed: the Central Advisory Contract Labour Board was not properly consulted before the notification’s release. Furthermore, the corporation highlighted that the decision rested solely on a subcommittee’s report, which had only assessed four out of ONGC’s thirty-four operational units, providing an incomplete and unrepresentative basis for such a sweeping ban.
While the Centre contended that the notification followed due process, the court’s investigation revealed otherwise. It concluded that the lack of comprehensive consultation and limited scrutiny meant the original decision was fundamentally flawed and lacked a robust factual foundation.
Drawing upon various precedents set by the Supreme Court, the bench underscored the critical importance of complying with Section 10(2) of the Act, asserting that any failure to do so renders the corresponding notification legally void. This judgment paves the way for ONGC to reconsider its employment policies regarding contract labor.