U.P. DRUGS & PHARMACEUTICALS CO. LTD. vs RAMANUJ YADAV . — C.A. No. 2537/2001

Summary The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's decision that U.P. Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Company illegally terminated 18 workers in 1987 in violation of Section 6N of the U.P. Industrial Disputes Act. Although the workers had not completed 240 working days in the year preceding termination, the Court found they qualified as continuous service employees because they had worked 240+ days in multiple prior years, and Section 2(g) does not require the 240-day threshold to be met specifically in the "preceding" 12 months. The Court rejected the employer's narrow interpretation, emphasizing that welfare legislation must receive broad interpretation. Workers were ordered reinstated from November 2003 with wages from that date, though back wages were denied considering the company's financial distress. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.