Uttarakhand High Court lifts 31-year-old ban on hiring contract workers at ONGC

The Uttarakhand High Court has quashed a 31-year-old notification that prohibited the hiring of declaration workers astatine the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Limited.

A single-judge Bench of Justice Pankaj Purohit declared the notification, issued connected September 8, 1994, by the Centre, invalid without pursuing the mandatory consultation process nether Section 10 of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970.

ONGC had challenged the notification, arguing that the Central Advisory Contract Labour Board was not consulted earlier issuing the notification, and that it relied solely connected the study of a subcommittee that inspected lone 4 of the corporation's 34 units.

The Centre claimed that the notification was issued pursuing owed process. However, the tribunal recovered that determination was nary due consultation and constricted scrutiny, meaning the determination lacked capable factual basis.

Citing assorted Supreme Court rulings, the seat said the compliance with Section 10(2) is mandatory, and immoderate usurpation of it invalidates the notification.