HINDUSTAN PETROLEUM CORPORATION LTD Vs. PRESIDING OFFICER CENTRAL GOVERNMENT INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNAL CUM LABOUR COURT NAGPUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this petition, the petitioner impugns the order passed by the Central Government Industrial Tribunal, Nagpur on 8.8.2001 rejecting an application filed by the petitioner for framing and deciding the preliminary issue about the legality or otherwise of the domestic enquiry.

(2.) The petitioner - corporation is a Government of India Undertaking and has a plant at Chandrapur. The respondent no.2 joined the services of the petitioner as General workman on 1.4.1987. Since he remained absent from duty without permission or intimation, the charge sheet was issued against respondent no.2 and after holding an enquiry the services of the respondent no.2 were terminated. The respondent no.2 raised an industrial dispute before the Conciliation Officer and since the conciliation had failed a reference was made for adjudication of the same by the Government of India, Ministry of Labour. The respondent no.2 filed the statement of claim. The petitioner corporation filed the written statement and also filed an application for framing and deciding the preliminary issue about the legality or otherwise of the domestic enquiry. The C.G.I.T., Nagpur however by the impugned order dated 8.8.2001, rejected the application by holding that all the issues would be decided together. The petitioner has impugned the order dated 8.8.2001 by this petition.

(3.) Shri. R. M. Puranik, the learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the C.G.I.T., Nagpur committed serious error in rejecting the application without properly hearing the petitioner and without considering the case law cited by the petitioner corporation before the C.G.I.T. The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that it is a well settled position of law that when a case of dismissal or discharge of an employee is referred for industrial adjudication, the Labour Court should decide the preliminary issue whether the domestic enquiry has violated the principles of natural justice. The learned counsel for the petitioner relied on the decision COOPER ENGINEERING LTD Vs P P MUNDHE, 1975 2 SCC 661. The learned counsel for the petitioner then relied on two unreported judgments of this court in Writ Petition Nos.4712/2002 and 1874/2001.