SANTOSH ENTERPRISES Vs. BHARAT KESURBHAI VASAVA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY way of this petition, the petitioner has challenged the judgment and award dated 07.02.2004 being Exh.49 passed by the Labour Court, Bharuch, by which the Labour Court has directed petitioner firm is directed to reinstate respondent nos.1 to 3 without backwages and to pay and amount of Rs.15000/- to the legal heirs of the respondent no.4 and Rs.30,000/- to the legal heirs of the respondent no.5. In this petition, the petitioners have made following prayers:-

(2.) THE facts leading to filing of the present case are as under:- 2.1 The respondents were working with the petitioner no.1 firm. The case of the petitioners is that the respondents on their own stopped reporting

(3.) THE case of the respondents-workmen before the Labour Court was that their services were came to be terminated in the Year-1989 without following the procedure required under the Industrial Dispute Act and despite requested them, no steps were taken by the petitioners. As against them, the case of the petitioners is that the respondents on their own stopped reporting for duty and though office of petitioner no.1 firm wrote a letter to them to report for duty, the respondents did not report for duty. However, a perusal of impugned judgment reveals that the petitioners failed to prove that any such letters were issued to the respondents asking them to report for duty and hence, I am in complete agreement with the view taken by the Labour Court that the services of respondents-workmen were illegally terminated by the petitioners and that petitioners failed to prove that the respondents-workmen on their own discontinued to report for duty. Under such circumstances, the case of the respondents-workmen that since they demanded a rise in salary, they were terminated. At this stage, it is reported that the petitioner no.1 firm, at present is not functioning. Under such circumstances, I am of the opinion that the end of justice would be met by passing the following order.