QUILON DISTRICT MOTOR AND MECHANICAL WORKERS UNION Vs. A A KAHAR, PROPRIETOR, AURORA ENGINEERING CENTRE, MUNDAKKAL, KOLLAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, a representative Union of workers, is before this Court challenging Ext.P7 Award of the Labour Court, Kollam. The petitioner as can be seen from the Award, represented six workmen whose denial of employment was the question referred for consideration before the Industrial Tribunal. In the course of the proceedings, the Union itself represented before the Tribunal that the cause of one of the workmen was not being agitated. Hence, the Labour Court confined the adjudication to that of five persons excluding one M.Rajasekharan referred to in the reference order itself.

(2.) The contention raised before this Court by the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner is that the Tribunal has gone beyond the bounds of its authority as indicated in sub-section (4) of Section 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act and considered matters which were not referred for its consideration. The leaned counsel for the petitioner would contend that the question referred was with respect to the illegal termination of employment and what was answered was the reasons behind the stoppage of the industrial establishment. This, according to the learned counsel, would go against the dictate of sub- section (4) of Section 10; as also against the dictum of the decision of the Honourable Supreme Court reported in Pottery Mazdoor Panchayat v. Perfect Pottery Co. Ltd. and Another, 1979 3 SCC 762.

(3.) Considering the contention raised, one has to first notice the question referred and the issue raised by the Labour Court. The question referred was as follows:-