STATE OF GUJARAT Vs. RAMESHBHAI JIVRAJBHAI RATHOD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Date of decision: 29/01/2002 Rule. Mr. B.A. Vaishnav, learned Advocate, appears and waives service of Rule on behalf of respondent-workman. With the consent of the learned Advocates appearing for both the sides, the petition is taken up for final disposal.

(2.) The present petition is filed challenging the judgement and award dated 28/03/2001 passed by the Labour Court, Bhavnagar, in Reference (LCB) No. 319 of 1991, whereby the Reference of the respondent-workman was partly allowed and the respondent-workman was ordered reinstatement on his original post of driver with continuity of service and 50% back wages.

(3.) The main contention raised by Mr. Siraj Ghori, learned AGP for the petitioners, is that as the respondent-workman was only rojamdar, the Labour Court could not have ordered reinstatement in view of the judgement of the Apex Court in the matter between State of Himachal Pradesh vs. Suresh Kumar Verma and Anr., reported in AIR 1996 SC 1565 and as the petitioner is not an `industry' being a Government Department, law of retrenchment is not applicable to the rojamdar, as held by the Apex Court in the matter of Himanshu Kumar Vidhyarthi Vs. State of Bihar, reported at AIR 1997 SC 3657.