WESTERN COALFIELDS LTD. Vs. SANTOSH KUMAR AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The employer assails the judgment dated 9.9.2009 delivered by learned single Judge, allowing Writ Petition No.3618/2008 filed by the respondent no.1- workman. In this Letters Patent Appeal on 22nd March 2010 this Court granted interim stay to the operation and effect of the impugned judgment and that interim order has been confirmed.

(2.) In this backdrop, we have heard Shri A.S.Mehadia, learned Advocate for the appellant. Nobody has appeared for respondent nos.1 and 2.

(3.) Short contention of Advocate Mehadia is, apart from huge delay in approaching the reference machinery under the Industrial Disputes Act ( in short "the Act"), independently prejudice caused to employer has also also come on record, inasmuch as the employer could not produce the records of departmental enquiry. He further states that because of this failure departmental enquiry was found to be vitiated and appellant led the evidence to substantiate the misconduct. Accepting that evidence, the respondent no.2-Industrial Tribunal delivered the award in favour of the appellant. It found the proceedings to be stale, misconduct established. The learned Single Judge has taken a different view of same material and, thus, re-appreciated the entire evidence which should not have been done in writ jurisdiction. It is further submitted that making of alleged representations was not the reason for approaching belatedly or for explaining the delay and hence delay ought not to have been accepted in such a matter. As the misconduct has been proved by adducing evidence before Industrial Court, the findings that charge-sheet was in English language and, therefore, workman may not have understood it or then oral evidence adduced by witnesses after 23 years in support of misconduct or abuses pointed out by them could not have been cross-checked with any other material, are the reasons given by the learned single Judge. These were not the contentions raised before the respondent no.2.