GANDHI SMARAK NIDHI Vs. S CHANDRAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE writ petition impugns the award dated 29 th January, 2011 of the 1. Industrial Adjudicator holding the punishment of compulsory retirement imposed by the petitioner on the respondent to be illegal and unjustified and directing the petitioner to reinstate the respondent with full back wages and continuity of service along with other consequential benefits from the date of compulsory retirement till the date of superannuation.

(2.) THE Industrial Adjudicator found the inquiry conducted by the petitioner to be contrary to the Rules of the petitioner qua the manner/procedure for conducting such inquiry and accordingly held the enquiry to be bad. The petitioner did not opt to prove the alleged misconduct before the Industrial Adjudicator and accordingly the award came to be made.

(3.) HOWEVER , the respondent, prior to raising the industrial dispute, had instituted a civil suit against the petitioner inter alia for declaration that the inquiry conducted by the petitioner was illegal and null and void. The petitioner contested the said suit and took a preliminary objection that the civil suit was not maintainable as the dispute between the parties to the suit was an "industrial dispute". On the said plea of the petitioner a preliminary issue was framed by the Civil Judge and which was vide judgment dated 25 th November, 2005 decided in favour of the petitioner and the suit was held to be not maintainable owing to the dispute raised being an industrial dispute and the adjudication thereof having been provided for under the I.D. Act. It was thereafter that the industrial dispute was raised by the respondent and on which the award impugned in this writ petition came to be published.