LAXMIKANT MOHANLAL DAWDA Vs. SERVO DRIVES PRIVATE LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The prayer of the petitioner in this writ petition is for quashing judgement and award dated 12.1.1998 passed by the Labour Court vide Annexure-A to the writ petition.

(2.) The brief facts giving rise to this petition are that the petitioner was working as machine shop Supervisor in the Machine Shop Department of the respondent Company since 21.3.1984 and was drawing monthly salary of Rs. 1750.00 inclusive of all allowances. He was appointed on a probation for six months and was thereafter confirmed as regular employee of the respondent and since March, 1984 he was working as confirmed machine shop Supervisor. The respondent Company dismissed the petitioner from service on 20.6.1988. The grievance of the petitioner is that he was dismissed without following due process of law and without following the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 ( for short `Act'). According to him no show cause notice was issued to him and no departmental enquiry was conducted. Consequently according to the petitioner there was no justifiable reason for dismissing him. The petitioner raised industrial dispute under the provisions of the Act. The Assistant Labour Commissioner, Baroda, referred the dispute to the Labour Court for adjudication. On preliminary objection of the respondent, the Labour Court dismissed the reference by observing that the petitioner is not a workman within the meaning of Section 2(s) of the Act. It is this order of the Labour Court which is under challenge in this petition.

(3.) Learned counsel for the parties have been heard. The contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner is that the petitioner is a workman and the finding to the contrary recorded by the Labour Court is against weight of evidence and contrary to law and is also the result of non-application of mind to the material on record as well as to the definition of workman as contained in Section 2(s) of the Act. In order to appreciate this contention, the provisions of Section 2(s) of the Act quoted below have to be kept in mind.