JEETUBHA KHANSANGJI JADEJA Vs. KUTCHH DISTRICT PANCHAYAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted. With consent, learned counsels for the parties were heard finally. This appeal is directed against an order of the Gujarat High Court[1].

(2.) Aggrieved by the termination from employment, the appellant raised an industrial dispute which was referred to the Labour Court, Bhuj, Kutchh District of Gujarat. The appellant was appointed as a Watchman on 5/10/1992 by the society (hereafter referred to as "the management"), and lastly, he was working as a watchman at the Shirai Dam at the Beraja Village of Mundra Taluk, Gujarat, with the respondent. After rendering continuous employment, he was terminated from the services on 30/12/2002 for no cause, without notice and without following the procedure prescribed by the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. His request for reinstatement was negated; consequently, the industrial dispute.

(3.) The management disputed the claim on the basis that the appellant worked in a purely temporary basis and could not claim the benefit of Sec. 25B of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 as he had not worked for a continuous period of 240 days in any given year. However, his employment as a workman since 1992 was not denied.