B N GUPTA Vs. SURAJ BHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) M/s Northern India Theatres, Chandni Chowk, Delhi is a partnership firm and runs a Cinema Talkies at Saharanpur in the name of 'Vijay Talkies'. Suraj Bhan (respondent No. 1) was employed in Vijay Talkies at Saharanpur as a gate-keeper-cum-booking clerk. By its order dated 24th July, 1970, the employers transferred respondent No. 1 to Delhi. At the instance of respondent No. 1, an industrial dispute was referred by the State Government to the Labour Court, Meerut, respondent No. 3, as to whether the order of the employers dated 24th July, 1970 transferring respondent No. 1 was proper and legal and if not, to what relief/damages was the respondent No. 1 entitled and with what other details ? The Labour Court, by its award dated 28th October, 1972 held that the order of transfer was not proper and legal and accordingly directed the employers to give the respondent No. 1 his old job at Vijay Talkies, Saharanpur. A further direction was issued that be may be paid his back wages, after deducting the amount earned by him during his employment as gate keeper from February 18, 1971 to June 30, 1972 in M/s. Rakesh Cinema, Saharanpur, at the rate of Rs. 60/- per month. It is this award which is sought to be quashed in the present writ petition.

(2.) It was urged by counsel for the petitioner that the same dispute, which was decided by the Labour Court by its impugned award, had been referred to it earlier by the State Government on 18th September, 1971 and an award was given on 16th February, 1972, holding that respondent No. 1 was not entitled to any relief. According to counsel for the petitioner, in view of this award, a second reference was incompetent. Reliance has been placed on Section 6 of the U.P. Industrial Disputes Act, sub-section (5) whereof makes an award, given by the Labour Court, final, not liable to be called in question in any Court in any manner whatsoever. It was further urged that the said award having been published in the U. P. Gazette dated 18th April, 1972 became enforceable on the expiry of 30 days from the said date in view of Section 6-A of the Act and since the said award was to remain in operation for one year, in view of Section 60 of the Act, the second reference as made on 20th June, 1972 was invalid.

(3.) On the facts of the instant case, we are not inclined to accept this argument. The term 'award' has been defined in Section 2 (c). According to this definition, award means an interim or final determination on any industrial dispute or on any question relating thereto by the Labour Court or Tribunal and includes an Arbitration award made under Section 5-B. The words "interim or final determination" are of significance. It is only if there has been interim or final determination of any industrial dispute, or any question relating thereto that an award can be said to come into being in law. A copy of the award dated 16th February, 1972, relied on by counsel for the petitioner, has been filed as 'Annexure 3' to the writ petition. The only ground on which it was held that the workman was not entitled to any relief, was that an application had been made on behalf of Union of the workmen that it did not want to press the claim. A copy of the application referred to in the award had been filed as 'Annexure 1' to the counter affidavit. It has three paragraphs and it will be relevant to quote them here. It reads :