PARVEEN KAUSHIK Vs. A S YADAV

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This latter patent appeal is directed against the writ court judgment dated 22nd May, 2001 in Writ Petition (C) No.3256/2001 whereby the writ petition was dismissed and the award of the Presiding Officer, Labour Court was upheld.

(2.) The appellant was engaged as Retainer Crew Driver by the respondent-Delhi Transport Corporation on 6.5.1987. As per the appointment order the appointment was purely temporary and his services were liable to be dispensed with at any time without notice and without assigning any reason therefor. He was to be paid Rs.29/- for the day he was actually given any duty to perform. His service was terminated on 20.12.1988. He raised an industrial dispute which was referred to the Labour Court with the following terms:

(3.) The appellant challenged his termination on the ground that he had put in more than 240 days in service in one calender year immediately preceding the termination and without conducting any enquiry or charge sheet and his juniors were retained while his services had been terminated which was bad in law. The respondent in defence took the plea that the appellant's services had been terminated under para 4(14) of the Executive Instructions governing the employment of Retainer Crew Driver and that his work was not satisfactory. The labour court observed that the appellant had not reported for duty for 108 days between 1.1.1988 to 19.12.1988. He referring to the contract of employment including the Executive Instructions found that the management/respondent was not bound to give any notice or any reason for terminating his services and that the termination did not amount to retrenchment and, therefore, could not be said to have been bad on account of non-compliance of the provisions of Section 25(f) of the INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES ACT, 1947. Section 25(f) lays down the conditions precedent to retrenchment of a workman which include those of notice of one month and payment of retrenchment compensation. Section 2(oo) defines retrenchment to mean termination by an employer of service of a workman for any reason whatsoever otherwise than as a punishment inflicted by way of a disciplinary proceeding. There are certain exceptions to this definition and the important one for our purpose is clause (bb) namely; " termination of the services of the workman as a result of the non-renewal of the contract of employment between the employer and the workman concerned on its expiry or of such contract being terminated under a stipulation in that behalf contained therein."