Impermissibility of granting interim relief altering status before adjudication under Section 33 of the ID Act

The protective embargoes under Section 33(1) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947—which restrain employers from altering service conditions or discharging workmen during the pendency of adjudication proceedings without express permission—presuppose an admitted or established master-servant relationship between the employer and the aggrieved workmen. Where the very status of contract labourers is fiercely contested, with the management asserting a valid tripartite contract under the CLRA and the workmen asserting that the contract is a sham, granting interim mandatory directions to reinstate them on regular rolls and disburse direct wages constitutes an impermissible pre-judgment of the central dispute. An Industrial Tribunal cannot grant interim relief that virtually decides the substantive reference at an interlocutory stage before framing and trying the threshold issues regarding the sham nature of the contract and the identity of the true employer. (M/S Premium Transmission Private Limited Vs Kishan Subhash Rathod and Others | 2026 INSC 122).