R M UDYOG Vs. SECRETARY LABOUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present petition under Articles 226 and 227 of Constitution of India challenges the ex-parte Award dated 26.2.1996 passed by the Labour Court whereby it was directed that the workman will be reinstated with full back wages.

(2.) The only ground pressed by the counsel for the petitioner is that the Labour Court gravely erred in proceeding exparte against the petitioner because in fact there was no service on the petitioner before the Labour Court. Learned counsel has drawn the attention of this Court to the complete order sheets till the stage the petitioner allegedly appeared through one of its employees. A reading of the order sheets before the Labour Court dated 17.2.1993, 9.7.1993, 4.10.1993, 4.1,1994, 22.3.1994, 29.6.1994, 5.9.1994 and 7.11.1994 shows that the case was fixed for service of the management and the management was not served. The only relevant order thereafter is the order dated 9.1.1995 and which reads as under:

(3.) It is therefore clear that on 9.1.1995, the management was not served as per the earlier part of the order and the later part of the order shows that one Sh. Harjinder Singh allegedly appeared for the petitioner. The counsel for the WP(C) No. 358/1997 Page 2 of 4 petitioner has urged that the petitioner concern had closed down in 1993 and therefore there is no question of any employee appearing on behalf of it before the Labour Court. He has further drawn the attention of this court to the visiting card which was taken by the Labour Court in proof of the fact that employee was allegedly the employee of the petitioner. A reference to the visiting cards shows that the employee was not the employee of the petitioner M/s R.M Udyog, because the visiting card is of Harjinder Singh, Service Engineer of M/s Auto Ignition Private Ltd.