N S RAGHAVENDRA RAO Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) An important point touching the powers of the appropriate Government under Ss.10 and 12(5) of the Industrial Disputes Act (in short the Act) after the incorporation of S.11A of the Act by Act 45 of 1971 with effect from 15-12-1971, arises for consideration in this writ petition.

(2.) The petitioner who was a workman under the 3rd respondent-Society has challenged the correctness of the endorsement issued by the State Government produced as Annexure-L with the writ petition refusing to refer the industrial dispute relating to the termination of his services on the ground that the 3rd respondent-Management had conclusively proved the charge of misappropriation in the domestic enquiry held by it.

(3.) The learned Counsel for the petitioner Sri K.Subba Rao maintained, inter alia that after the incorporation of S.11A in the Act by Amendment Act 45 of 1971 which came into force on 15-12-1971, the State Government while exercising its powers under S.10 of the Act must necessarily consider whether the punishment suffered by the workman was excessive or disproportionate to the gravity of the misconduct proved against him and in the absence of application of its mind on this aspect of the case, the impugned order rejecting the reference is bad in law. Sri Subba Rao secondly maintained that it was beyond the jurisdiction of the State Government to record a finding in the impugned endorsement that the Management had proved the case conclusively against the workman since such finding could have been recorded only by the Labour Court after the dispute was referred to it for adjudication.