Improvement Trust Batala vs Presiding Officer Labour Court

S.S. Nijjar, J.—This order will dispose of Civil Writ Petition No. 7487 of 2000 and Civil Writ Petition No. 5431 of 2001.

Civil Writ Petition No. 7487 of 2000 is filed by the Improvement Trust, Batala (hereinafter referred to as the Management) seeking the issuance of a writ in the nature of certiorari, quashing the award passed by the Presiding Officer, Labour Court, Gurdaspur (hereinafter referred to as the Labour Court), on 3.8.1999 published in the Punjab Govt. Gazette on 25.2.2000.

Civil Writ Petition No. 5341 of2001 has been filed by the workman Sulakhan Singh, for modification of the award to the effect that on reinstatement directions ought to have been issued to the Management to pay full back wages to the workman. For the purposes of this order, the facts are taken from the writ petition filed by the Improvement Trust.

The services of respondent No. 2 were terminated by the Management by an order passed in October, 1991. The workman sent a demand notice dated nil claiming that the termination order has been passed in violation of the mandatory provisions contained in Sections 25-F, 25-G and 25-H of the Industrial Disputes Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act).

The Management controverted the claim of the workman by filing a written statement. On completion of the pleadings, the Labour Court framed two issues on 3.4.1995, which are as follows :-

1) Whether termination of services of the workman is justified and in order ?.

2) Relief. Thereafter the impugned award has been passed.

A perusal of paragraphs 5 and 7 of the award shows that both the Management as well as the workman have failed to produce any evidence in support of their respective claims. The award has been rendered on the basis of pleadings of the parties. The Labour Court has noticed that the Management has denied the employment of the workman for three years from 1988 to October 1991. The Management had also pleaded that the workman had only been employed for a specific period against specific work as a chaukidar to safeguard the cement stock of the Improvement Trust. A plea had thereafter been taken that the termination of the services of the workman was justified as the contract had not been renewed. Therefore, the matter was stated to be covered by Section 2(oo)(bb) of the Act. From a perusal of the pleadings of the parties it becomes evident that the respective cases put forward ought to have been adjudicated on the basis of evidence adduced by the parties. Not only the Management but the workman also failed to produce any evidence in support of his case. He did not even care to step into the witness box to make an oral statement in support of bis case. In such circumstances, the award is clearly based on no evidence. The award, therefore, cannot be sustained as there is no evidence what-so-ever in support of the findings recorded by the Labour Court.

Consequently, Civil Writ Petition No. 7487 of 2000 filed by the Improvement Trust, Batala, is allowed. The impugned award passed by the Labour Court in reference No. 86 of 1992 is hereby quashed and set aside.

The matter is remanded back to the Labour Court to decide the reference afresh by giving one more opportunity to the Management to produce the evidence in support of its case. The workman shall also be at liberty to adduce any evidence in support of the case put forward by him.

Let the reference be decided within a period of two months of the receipt of a certified copy of this order.

In view of the order passed in Civil Writ Petition No. 7487 of 2000 quashing the Award, no relief can be granted in Civil-Writ Petition No. 5341 of 2001. Petition disposed of. The parties are directed to appear before the Labour Court, Batala on September 19, 2001.

Petition allowed.