GARHWAL MOTOR OWNERS UNION LTD Vs. LABOUR COURT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ON or about December 6, 1969, the State Government referred for adjudication to the Labour Court, Lucknow, the dispute whether the employers who are the- appellants before us have validly and justifiably retired Sita Ram Semwal (respondent No. 3) and C. L. Mahajan (respondent No. 4 ). The Labour Court by its award dated 3rd June, 1970, answered the dispute in favour of the two workmen. Aggrieved, the appellants institute. . a writ petition in this Court. Before the learned single Judge the award was challenged on three grounds:

(2.) THE learned single Judge found no merit in any of these grounds and dismissed the writ petition. The learned Advocate General appearing for the appellants reiterated before us the first two points taken before the learned single Judge. The third point was not raised before us but in its place an entirely new point was pressed that in any event, the Labour Court ought to have fixed a reasonable age of superannuation and then considered the question of granting relief.

(3.) IN support of the first point that there was no industrial dispute in existence and so the reference was incompetent, the learned single Judge observed that the employers had taken up this plea in the written statement only in respect of respondent No. 3. Their plea was that respondent No. 3 having made no demand before the management in respect of his retirement, no industrial dispute cams into existence which could be referred for adjudication. No such plea was raised in respect of respondent No. 4, C. L. Mahajan. The learned Judge held that though it may be true that such a demand was not made before the management prior to the matter being taken up before the State Government for reference, yet the reference was not illegal. The learned Judge relied upon the decision of the Supreme Court in State of Madras v. C. F. Sarathy and Ors. He distinguished the Supreme Court decision in Sindhu Resettlement Corporation Ltd. v. Industrial Tribunal of Gujarat and Ors. 1968?i L. L. J. 834 : A. I. R. 1968 S. C. 539.