W.S.INDS.(INDIA) LTD. vs STATE OF KARNATAKA — SLP(C) No. 8290/1998

Summary The Supreme Court upheld Karnataka's 1997 notification prohibiting contract labour in factory canteens employing 250+ workers under the Contract Labour Act, 1970. The Court held that canteen operation is statutorily mandatory under the Factories Act and constitutes an incidental, perennial activity integral to factory operations, justifying abolition of contract labour. All petitioner contentions—including that canteens are merely peripheral facilities, lack proper consultation, or require individual factory assessments—were rejected as the Government's categorical policy decision was valid and properly considered relevant factors. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.