KRISHAK BHARATI COOPERATIVE LTD. Vs. CHEMICAL MAZDOOR PANCHAYAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CHALLENGE in this petition is made by the Krishak Bharati Co -operative Limited (KRIBHCO for short) to the award passed by the Industrial Tribunal, Surat in Reference (IT) No. 8 of 1995 dated 10.04.2007. The said Reference was made by the Appropriate Government at the instance of the Gujarat Mazdoor Panchayat, which espoused the cause of the workers of two Contractors of the petitioner KRIBHCO viz. M/s. Ghanshyam Builders and M/s. V.K. Patel. These two Contractors were holding valid licence as required under the law and were doing work at the Bagging Plant of the petitioner at Hazira (Surat), which involved the activities of filling the Urea into the bags, their stitching, staking, de -stacking, loading into trucks, railway wagons and unloading etc. The genesis of the controversy was that, this work was stopped with effect from 12.06.1994, which was called a lockout by the workers, and on the other hand the Contractors claimed it to be an illegal strike by the workers without notice. The point for adjudication before the Tribunal was, as to whether, it was a strike by the contract workers or was a lockout by the Contractors. The Tribunal, vide its impugned award dated 10.04.2007, inter alia declared that, there was employer -employee relationship between the workers and KRIBHCO. It is this award which is challenged by KRIBHCO inter alia on the ground that, while passing the said award the Tribunal has exceeded its jurisdiction. It is recorded that, the issue, as to whether, these workers were workers of KRIBHCO or otherwise, was the subject matter of a separate Reference which was already pending before the Tribunal at the relevant time being Reference (IT) No. 44 of 1994, wherein it was subsequently held that, they were not the workers of KRIBHCO [vide award dated 20.05.2010], which is challenged by the Union before this Court in a separate petition being Special Civil Application No. 4056 of 2012, which is being considered separately by this Court. So far the present petition is concerned, the principal grievance of the KRIBHCO is that, the Tribunal has exceeded its jurisdiction by granting relief in favour of the workers on the ground that, there was employer -employee relationship between these workers and KRIBHCO.

(2.) HEARD Mr. Manish Bhatt, learned senior advocate for the petitioner KRIBHCO and Ms. Sangita Pahwa, learned advocate for the Respondent Union. Both the learned advocates have taken this Court through the material on record.

(3.) : (2008) 3 SCC 571 -Himmat Singh vs. I.C.I. India Ltd.