NORTH DELHI MUNICIPAL CORPORATION Vs. RAJBIR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Vide the present petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner/North Delhi Municipal Corporation impugns the Award dated 24.03.2018 passed by the Industrial Tribunal, Dwarka Courts in ID No.181/16. Under the said award, the Industrial Tribunal has directed the petitioner/management to regularise the respondent/workman from the date when other similarly situated persons, who had been appointed on muster rolls basis alongwith the respondent, were regularised.

(2.) The facts as emerge from the record are that the respondent had joined the erstwhile Municipal Corporation as a Mali/Beldar on 27.01.1984 in which post he continued to work till 24.03.1985. As the respondent was not permitted to work after 24.03.1985 and was instead terminated from service, he raised an industrial dispute seeking re-instatement and regularisation of service along with back wages from the initial date of his appointment, i.e., 27.01.1984. The said industrial dispute was referred to the Labour Court, which vide its Award dated 19.09.2002, came to a conclusion that the services of the respondent had been wrongly terminated and that the actions of the petitioner/management were in violation of Sections 25(F) and 25(G) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. However, in view of the fact that the respondent/workman had raised a grievance regarding his termination only after 6 years, i.e., on 04.04.1991, the Tribunal held that he was not entitled to any wages for the said period, but had granted him reinstatement with continuity of service.

(3.) The petitioner/management had challenged the aforesaid award before this Court by way of W.P.(C) No.5510/2003. During the pendency of the writ petition itself, the respondent workman, in compliance of the award, was reinstated on 17.03.2006, and was also granted back wages w.e.f 04.04.1991. In these circumstances, the writ petition was disposed of as having become infructuous.