O RAJA REDDY Vs. PRESIDING OFFICER LABOUR COURT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Alas! But for the anonymous complaint received by the Registry of this Court a reprehensible mischief committed by the learned Presiding Officer of the Labour Court-II, Hyderabad who held that office between 6-5-1996 and 31-7-1997 should have gone unnoticed resulting in injury to the public interest and tarnishing the image of the apparatus of the industrial adjudication,

(2.) I do not think it appropriate for the Court to record in this order the steps taken by the High Court on administrative side to unearth the serious and reprehensible lapses committed by the Presiding Officer of the Labour Court-II, Hyderabad. Suffice it to state that the learned Presiding Officer of Labour Court-II, Hyderabad passed the docket orders in the following 18 industrial disputes on the dates shown against each of the industrial disputes. <FRM>JUDGEMENT_479_ALT4_2000Html1.htm</FRM>

(3.) The High Court secured the files of the above 18 industrial disputes supposed to have been disposed of by the learned Presiding Officer on the dates mentioned above and on perusal of the same, the High Court, on administrative side, found that in industrial disputes from S.Nos.l to 6 draft awards were prepared, but not signed by the learned Presiding Officer, and in the remaining 12 Industrial Disputes from S.Nos.7 to 18 noted above, draft awards were not prepared. Even though the awards were claimed to have been dictated and taken by the typist in long hand, the so called awards in all the 18 cases, some of which were transcribed by the typist in manuscripts are in incomplete form and many of the sentences in the award are not legible. The awards and orders are perfunctory and devoid of reasons. Even some blanks are not filled up. In that view of the matter, the High Court on administrative side, took a decision to review the awards made by the learned Presiding Officer in the above noted 18 industrial disputes. Hon'ble the Chief Justice was authorised by the High Court to nominate a Judge to exercise the power of the High Court under Article 227 of the Constitution. Accordingly, Hon'ble the Chief Justice directed these industrial disputes to be placed before me to take necessary steps under Article 227 of the Constitution to review the awards made by the learned Presiding Officer, Labour Court-II, Hyderabad.