MANAGEMENT Vs. G PARAMANANDAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Both the writ petitions are filed against the award of the Labour Court in I.D.No.24 of 1995 on the file of the Labour Court, Trichirapalli.

(2.) The petitioner, Mr.Paramandam was working as employee in Branch-in-charge in BHEL in the petitioner management, he misappropriated a sum of Rs.20,897.42; thereafter he was transferred to Thuvarakurichi Branch, and the said amount was recovered from his salary. During the year 1991-92 he was transferred as Branch Manager Thuvakudi Branch, he met with an accident on03.02.1992 and had taken treatment in the hospital as outpatient; the said fact was not informed to the management; on account of this the employee without informing the management closed down the branch for some time; then the management inspected the branch office and found that the workman/employee again misappropriated a sum of Rs.8293-99 and the management informed the same to the workman; the workman also accepted the same and also agreed to make good the loss; he re-paid a sum of Rs.5000/-; the management sent notice to pay the balance amount; in order to avoid further payments, the workman abandoned the service. Inspite of several notices sent by the management, he did not join duty. After some time, the first respondent herein invoked conciliation proceeding as if the management has terminated the workman from service; since the conciliation proceedings failed, the failure reports was submitted to the Government and a reference was made to the Labour Court under Industrial Disputes Act and the workman filed I.D.No.24 of 1995 on the file of the Labour Court, Trichirapalli, for an order of reinstatement with continuity of service and back wages from 1.5.1992 as if he was terminated from service. The management resisted the proceeding by contending that the Labour Court has no jurisdiction to entertain the application since the Management of Sarvodaya Sangam is not an industry as per Section 2 (i) of the Industrial Disputes Act and the management was exempted under Section 2(j)(5) of the Act and the respondent in W.P.No.13157 of 1997 is not a workman under the management; that the I.D.is not maintainable since the first respondent has abandoned the service and there is no order of termination against the first respondent/workman. The Labour Court has passed an award dated 02.07.1997 ordering reinstatement of the respondent/workman without backwages. Aggrieved by the said award, both the management and the workman have filed these writ petitions.

(3.) On a perusal of the Award of the Labour Court, it is clear that the Labour Court has invoked Article 311 of the Constitution and has stated that show cause notice was not given and ordered reinstatement of the workman. The employee was not a civil servant and Article 311 of the Constitution has no application whatsoever. The management is Sarvodaya Sangam and the benefit of the civil servant of the Government is not available to the petitioner. On that ground the award is liable to be set aside and hence set aside.