The Supreme Court on 29 April 2026 rebuked the Union Government for failing to give permanent status to daily‑wage workers employed at a subsidiary of ISRO. The Court set aside the Madras High Court judgment and struck down portions of the Gang Labourers (Employment for Sporadic Types of Work) Scheme, 2012, holding that it offered only temporary engagement contrary to earlier judicial directions.
Key Developments
- The Central Administrative Tribunal in 2010 directed the Union to frame a scheme or ad‑hoc rules to create permanent posts for the workers.
- The Madras High Court upheld the CAT direction in 2011, but the Union introduced the 2012 scheme that provided only contractual engagement.
- The Supreme Court declared the scheme inconsistent with the Tribunal’s directions and ordered immediate regularisation of the appellants.
- Permanent status is to be granted retroactively from 9 September 2010, with implementation to begin within four weeks of the judgment.
Important Facts
The appellants, known as "gang labourers," were engaged between 1991 and 1997 at ISRO’s Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre in Mahendragiri, performing loading, unloading and material‑shifting tasks. Many served for over two decades. The Tribunal’s deadline for framing a regularisation scheme was 9 September 2010. The 2012 scheme, however, failed to create permanent posts, prompting the present challenge.
Exam Relevance
The judgment underscores the constitutional guarantee of Article 14, emphasizing that state actions must be non‑arbitrary and must ensure fairness in public employment. It illustrates the principle of the State as a “model employer”, a