Sarva Shramik Sangh vs Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.& Ors

The Supreme Court addressed the issue of whether the appellant union, representing canteen workers, was estopped from challenging the validity of the contract between Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. and its contractor after previously seeking abolition of contract labor under the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970. The Court held that the appellant's prior petition for abolition precluded them from asserting that the contract was sham in a subsequent writ petition. The Court upheld the dismissal of the writ petition by the High Court, affirming the government's refusal to refer the dispute under Section 10(1) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, as it did not suffer from any infirmity.