The petitioners, who work in the chairman's office at Bharat Bhavan, administrative offices at Maker Towers and Sewri, have claimed that though they have been issued identity cards by the company and have been working in the canteen for the past three years without a break, the company has not regularised them.

They informed the court that their service conditions are less conducive and salaries are far less than those drawn by the lowest cadre of employees in the company, and much less than those drawn by the canteen workers already regularised by the company.

The workers, who are members of the Petroleum Employees Union, have argued that the duties of the present workmen were supervised by the officers of the company and in effect their work and their jobs were supervised and administered by the officers of thecompany alone. They have also argued that the company being an instrument of the state could not have two different service conditions for the same set of workmen.

The canteen workers argued that their work is of a perennial nature proving that there is a clear relationship of an employer and employees between the canteen workmen and the company and they are a part of the company as mentioned under the Shops and Establishments Act, 1948.

Appearing for the company, Additional Solicitor General D Y Chandrachud argued that the finer points of the disputes on whether the contract workers are indeed employees of the company could be decided only by the Industrial Tribunal as provided under the Industrial Disputes Act. Counsel for the workers Suresh Pakale held that while the tribunal could decide on the points of dispute, the High Court had every right under article 226 to hear a writ petition on the main issue of injustice to the canteen workers.

Accepting Pakale's contention, the division bench of JusticeB N Srikrishna and Justice R M Lodha on Monday directed that the Tribunal decide whether the canteen under reference were a part of service conditions provided to the office and whether the canteen was an integral part of the main establishment. They also directed the Tribunal to submit its report to the court within six months.