VIJAYA BANK Vs. SHYAMAL KUMAR LODH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals, by grant of leave arise out of a common judgment of the Division Bench of the Gauhati High Court dated 10th January, 2007 in Writ appeal No. 381 of 2001 and Writ Appeal No. 11 of 2002, whereby it had set aside the order of the learned Single Judge dated 22nd August, 2001 and 24th August, 2001 passed in Civil Rule No. 3735 of 1995 and Civil Rule No. 2771 of 1997 respectively.

(2.) Facts lie in a narrow compass: Shyamal Kumar Lodh-respondent herein is an employee of the appellant-Vijaya Bank. It is a Nationalised Bank. The employee filed application before the Labour Court, Dibrugarh constituted by the State Government under Section 7 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 for an award computing his suspension/subsistence allowance under Section 33C(2) of the Act.

(3.) It is not in dispute that the appropriate Government in relation to an employee is the Central Government and the employee had filed the application before the Labour Court constituted by the State Government. It is further not in dispute that the Labour Court before whom the employee had filed the application has not been specified by the Central Government. On the application so filed the Labour Court issued notice to the appellant-employer. The appellant appeared before the Labour Court and questioned its jurisdiction to adjudicate the dispute on the ground that the said Court havingnot been specified by the Central Government under Section 33C(2) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 it had no jurisdiction to entertain the application.