SC directs MECL to regularise adhoc workers

New Delhi, July 30 (UNI) The Supreme Court has directed Mineral Explorarion Corporation Limited (MECL) to regularise on permanent basis 2145 workers who have worked on adhoc basis as casual workers or as daily wagers for ten years or more.

A bench comprising Justices A R Lakshmanan and Lokeshwar Singh Paonta on July 26 directed the Industrial Tribunal to decide within nine months the genuineness and authenticity of each and every claimant for regularisation.

The court has made the regularisation of employees subject to the outcome of the fresh inquiry.

MECL , a government of India undertaking is engaged in exploring the availability of mineral wealth in the country.

The court directed the tribunal to strictly go by the five-judges constitution bench in case of secretary, state of Karnataka and others versus Uma Devi and others in which this court has held that casual or adhoc workers have no right to claim permanent regularisation as they have not gone through the constitutional process of recruitment. The duration of service as a casual worker is immaterial.

The bench however directed the tribunal to consider the claim of the workers in the light of the observations made by the constitition bench that such workers may be regularised as ''one time measure.'' UNI AKS SC SY KP1935