Ajit Kumar Barat vs Secretary, Indian Tea Association And ...

The Supreme Court dismissed the writ petition filed under Article 32 challenging its earlier order dated 14.2.2000, which set aside the High Court's directive for the State Government to make a reference regarding the petitioner's status as a workman under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The Court held that the petitioner failed to demonstrate how his Fundamental Rights under Article 21 were violated by the previous judgment, and clarified that the maintainability of a writ petition cannot be used to question the merits of its own prior decisions. The Court reaffirmed the binding nature of its previous rulings and dismissed the petition as untenable.