Umesh Korga Bhandari vs Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. & Ors

The Supreme Court held that the appellants, who were employees of the Canteens maintained by the Departmental Canteen Committee, were holding civil posts under the Central Government and thus the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (ID Act) was not applicable. The Court emphasized that the appropriate forum for adjudicating their grievances was the Central Administrative Tribunal as per the Administrative Tribunal's Act, 1985. Consequently, the judgment of the Bombay High Court, which ruled that the reference under Section 10(1) of the ID Act was not maintainable, was upheld.