New Delhi: The Supreme Court has refused
relief to Pepsico (India) Holdings Pvt Ltd which has sought
police protection to one of its units in Maharashtra.
The company had alleged that law enforcement agencies had
failed to stop labourers and the members of the Maharashtra
Rajyaa Mathadi Transport and General Kamgar Union from
creating law and order problems at its Panvel warehouse.
The workers had been demonstrating and agitating at the warehouse demanding job of loading and unloading from Pepsico.
Rejecting the soft drinks major's plea, a bench headed by
Justice D K Jain said: "We are of the view that the present
petition is misconceived... it is open to the petitioner
(Pepsico) to take recourse to appropriate remedy."
The court further said the status quo order passed by it
in August on another PepsiCo petition, which is pending before
it, was limited to the question of engagement of workers
under the Maharashtra Mathadi, Hamal and Other Manual Workers
(Regulation of Employment and Welfare) Act, 1969.
"...status-quo pertained to the question of engagement or
non-engagement of the workers under the said Act and nothing
more inasmuch as interim relief could not be greater in scope
than the main relief in the petition," the Bench held.
Challenging the Bombay High Court order that refused
relief to it saying that the Supreme Court was seized of the
matter, Pepsico said that the high court had erred in ignoring
that the agitation by the workers outside its warehouse was in
gross violation of the apex court's directions.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, October 12, 2009, 20:34