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Madras High Court· 18 August 2026

Under the Tamil Nadu Industrial Establishments (Conferment of Permanent Status to Workmen) Act, 1981, can a workman who has executed an undertaking giving up the benefit of an order passed by the competent authority later claim that benefit?

Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (Coimbatore v. R.Rajendran
WA.563/2026 · 2026:MHC:3419 · WA No. 563 of 2026
Coram: Justice S. M. Subramaniam · Justice Krishnaswamy Govindarajan
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Answer

No. Where the workmen executed a letter of undertaking, pursuant to a settlement, stating that they will not claim the benefit of the order passed by the competent authority under the Conferment of Permanent Status Act, and their services were accordingly regularised, they cannot turn around and claim the benefit of the said order after a lapse of nine years by filing a writ petition seeking regularisation of their services on completion of 480 days.

Headnote

Tamil Nadu Industrial Establishments (Conferment of Permanent Status to Workmen) Act, 1981 — s.3 — Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 — s.12(3), s.18(3) — Settlement and undertaking — Delay, laches and acquiescence — Conferment of Permanent Status Act, 1981 — s.3 — Undertaking giving up the order — Benefit not revivable — Held: Workmen who execute an undertaking giving up their rights in respect of the order passed by the competent authority under the Conferment of Permanent Status Act cannot turn around and claim the benefit of that order after a lapse of years. (¶10) Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 — s.12(3), s.18(3) — Settlement unchallenged — Retrospective regularisation barred — Held further: Where the Section 12(3) settlement and the consequential regularisation order remain unchallenged, relief granted by the writ Court for retrospective regularisation on completion of 480 days is not in consonance with the principles of law. (¶12) Writ practice — Direction to dispose of a representation — Right of the litigant to be ascertained — Held further: A Court entertaining a writ petition merely to direct disposal of a representation must ascertain the right of the person approaching it; routine orders of that kind do no service to the cause of justice and serve only to restore a dead cause of action. (¶11) Doctrine of laches and delay — Doctrine of acquiescence — Right not exercised for a long time — Held further: A right not exercised for a long time is non-existent, and a party who stands by while another acts inconsistently with that right, making no objection, cannot afterwards complain. Writ order set aside; writ appeals allowed. (¶13, ¶16)

In the Court's own words
Paragraph 10Facts in the present case are not disputed. The competent authority under the Conferment of Permanent Status Act passed an award on 31.05.2005. Subsequently, Section 12(3) Settlement was arrived between the Trade Union and the Management on 31.08.2005. In pursuance to the settlement, the workmen executed a letter of undertaking stating that they will not claim the benefit of the order passed by the competent authority under the Conferment of Permanent Status Act. Accordingly, their services were regularised with effect from 01.09.2005. In the present case, the respondents executed an undertaking giving up their rights in respect of the order passed by the competent authority under the Conferment of Permanent Status Act. Thus, they cannot turn around and claim the benefit of the said order after a lapse of nine years by filing a writ petition seeking regularisation of their services on completion of 480 days.
Paragraph 12Pertinently, there is no valid reason for unexplained delay. That apart, the 12(3) settlement dated 31.08.2005 and the consequential regularisation order dated 01.09.2005 remain unchallenged. Having accepted the settlement and thereafter giving an undertaking, the workmen cannot turn around and claim retrospective regularisation based on the order passed by the authority under the Conferment of Permanent Status Act. In the absence of any challenge to 12(3) settlement and the regularisation order, the relief granted by the writ Court is not in consonance with the principles of law.
Acts & Sections
s.3 Tamil Nadu Industrial Establishments (Conferment of Permanent Status to Workmen) Act, 1981s.12(3) Industrial Disputes Act, 1947s.18(3) Industrial Disputes Act, 1947

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Also decided in this judgment
Is a settlement under Section 12(3) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 binding on workmen who have accepted regularisation under it, and what follows if the settlement is not challenged?What must a writ Court ascertain before directing an authority merely to dispose of a representation?How do the doctrines of laches and delay and of acquiescence operate where a right is not exercised for a long time?
Plain-language answer prepared by the LexStreak Editorial Desk — verify against the judgment. Source: Madras High Court. Corrections