C PANDIAN Vs. DIRECTOR KALAKSHETRA FOUNDETION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition is filed, challenging the endorsement of the second respondent, the Central Government Labour Court cum Industrial Tribunal dated June 29, 2001, by which the second respondent has refused to entertain the application filed by the petitioner to set aside the ex parte award passed in I.D. No. 257 of 2001 on February 23, 2001. The reason given by the second respondent for rejecting the application is that the award passed by the Labour Court has been published in the G.O., as per the Notification of the Government dated March 12, 2001. Few facts relevant for the decision in this writ petition are as follows: The petitioner Union raised a dispute about the termination of employment of one Sarvajeet Goundu on April 29, 1998 when he was employed as a Cook in the first respondent management. The Government of India has referred the same on October 13, 1999 for adjudication to the Tamil Nadu Industrial Tribunal and later transferred to the second respondent and was taken on file as I.D. No. 257 of 2001. Notice was sent to both the parties to appear before the Tribunal on February 9, 2001. Since both the parties were not present on that date, fresh notice was ordered, posting the case to February 23, 2001. Due to the non-appearance of the petitioner union, the said I.D. No. 257 of 2001 was dismissed exparte on February 23, 2001. It is to set aside the said ex parte award dismissing the I.D., the petitioner union filed an application on June 29, 2001 and on the same day, the said application was returned as not maintainable on the basis that the ex parte award dismissing the I.D. was published in the gazette on March 12, 2001.

(2.) As per the provisions of Section 17-A of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, an award becomes enforceable on expiry of thirty days from the date of publication of the award. It is not the case of the petitioner that there was any Notification by the Government that the award shall not be enforceable after the expiry of thirty days for any reason. In this regard, it is relevant to extract Section 17-A, which reads as follows: "17-A Commencement of the award: (1) An award (including an arbitration award) shall become enforceable on the expiry of thirty days from the date of its publication under Section 17: Provided that-

(3.) Therefore, the point to be considered in this case is that when admittedly the award of the Central Government Industrial Tribunal was published as per Section 17 of the I.D. Act on March 12, 2001 and the petitioner union has filed an application long after the expiry of thirty days from the date of publication of the award i.e. on June 29, 2001, whether such application is maintainable.