KESARWANI SHEETALAYA Vs. PRESIDING OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this writ petition, the petitioner is challenging the award of the Labour Court dated 3.5.1999 with a further relief that the order of reference dated 14.6.1994 and its amendment dated 25.7.1996 had not given effect to. The facts of the case, in brief, are that the petitioner is a partnership firm engaged in the business of running a Cold Storage and Ice Factory at Sahson, Allahabad. On a dispute being raised by the respondent No. 3 a reference dated 14.6.1994 was referred to the Industrial Tribunal U.P. Allahabad. Thereafter, after about 2 years an amended reference was made on 25.7.1996, which was also referred for adjudication by the Labour Court, Allahabad. The reference was registered as adjudication case No. 73 of 1994.

(2.) The case of the respondent No. 3- was that he was appointed under the petitioner-Cold Storage on 17.7.1990 on the post of Clerk and his services were wrongfully terminated by an order on 26.10.1993. The petitioner-Ice Factory denied the allegations made by the workman and stated that the respondent No. 3- Shailendra Kumar Kushwaha was never employed by the petitioner and, therefore, the question of terminating his services w.e.f. 26.10.1993 did not arise. It was stated that the respondent No. 3 was an employee of a Brick Kiln adjacent to the petitioner-Cold Storage whose proprietor was one Surya Prakash Kesarwani, who also happened to be a partner of the petitioner-Cold Storage.

(3.) The case of the petitioner is that on 8.4.1993 an application was filed by the respondent No. 3 before the Dy. Labour Commissioner, Allahabad-respondent No. 2 claiming that he was employed by the petitioner on 17.7.1990 and that his services were illegally terminated on 26.10.1993. Conciliation proceedings were initiated and notice was issued to the petitioner-Cold Storage who submitted its reply/objections on 24.1.1994 before the Dy. Labour Commissioner in conciliation proceedings being case No. 333 of 1993. In those proceedings the respondent No. 3 filed a rejoinder dated 4.2.1994, filed as Annexure-6 to the writ petition, in paragraph 17 of which he denied that he had ever worked in the Brick Kiln of Surya Prakash Kesarwani. The Dy. Labour Commissioner without summoning the proprietor of the Brick Kiln, namely, Shri Surya Prakash Kesarwani held conciliation proceedings and referred the dispute regarding the validity of the alleged termination of the services of the respondent No. 3 by the petitioner for adjudication to the Industrial Tribunal (I), Allahabad which was registered as Adjudication Case No. 73 of 1994.