TELECOM DISTRICT MANAGER Vs. LABOUR COURT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Telecom District Manager, Kozhikode filed this Original Petition for quashing Ext. P1 award passed by the Labour Court, Kozhikode in I. D. No. 7/95. A. P. Balan, the respondent herein was employed as casual Mazdoor under the petitioner from 1978 and his service was regularised by an order dated 8-7-1980. He worked till December 1986 and thereafter he discontinued. The workman contented that he was reengaged in service from 6-8-0990 and work was denied to him from 15-2-1994. Accordingly he raised an industrial dispute and the same was referred to the Labour Court, Kozhikode, for adjudication. The labour Court after considering the evidence let in by bothsides, passed Ext. P1 award holding that the denial of employment to the workman by the management was not justifiable and directed the management to reinstate the workman as an approved causal Mazdoor within one month from the date of publicat on of the ward in the official Gazette and that the workman was entitled to all benefits and privileges and continuity of service as a causal labourer but without backwages. The above ward of the Labour Court is under challenge at the instance of the management.

(2.) Heard the learned Standing Counsel for the petitioner and the learned counsel for the respondent.

(3.) One of the contentions put forward by the petitioner was that the Telecom Department was not an industry coming within the definition of Sec. 2(j) of the Industrial Disputes Act and as such the reference made by the Government for adjudication before the Labour Court was invalid. The learned counsel for the respondent submitted that the Telecom Department is an industry coming within the definition of Sec. 2(j) of the Industrial Disputes Act. Reliance was placed on the decision of the Supreme Court in Dharti Pakar Madan Lal Agarwal v. K. R. Narayanan and Others AIR 1997 SCC 767. The Supreme Court placing reliance on the decision of the Bangalore Water Supply Case (AIR 1978 SC 548) held that the Telecom was an industry coming within the definition of the Industrial Disputes Act. In para 6 of the judgment it was held that: