UNION OF INDIA Vs. MOHD SAHEB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two writ appeals arise out of Judgment in two similar writ petitions. The writ petitions were filed assailing the orders passed by the Labour Court under Sec. 33-C(2) of the Industrial Disputes Act. Since both the orders passed by the Labour Court and the Judgments passed by the learned Single Judges in the respective writ petitions arise out of identical set of facts and the questions raised before us in the appeals are also identical, they are disposed of by this common judgment.

(2.) The writ petitioners-respondents in the appeals were originally casual workers. Some of them had approached the Labour Court filing application under Sec. 33-C (2) of the Industrial Disputes Act claiming differential wages due to them as temporary employees asserting to have qualified as such after rendering six months. service in pursuance of the Presidential Order dated 31-3-1965. That application was registered as C.M.P. 30/74 before the Labour Court and was allowed on 30-12-1974. The order was challenged in W.P. No.1707/75 which was allowed on 9-7-76. As against the judgment the workmen preferred W.A.No. 74/77 which was allowed on 25-8-1977 with directions to the Labour Court that on fresh petitions being filed, it was to compute the differential wages that had become due after completion of six months of service of each of the workmen instead of computation of such wages from the date of commencement of service as had been earlier directed by the labour Court. Pursuant to the direction a group of workmen filed C.M.P. No. 2/77 and batch before the Labour Court for computation of the benefits. Those applications were allowed on 6-1-1979. Another batch of workers filed similar applications registered as CMP Nos 7/78 and batch which were also allowed on 28-12-1979. The two orders of the Labour Court were respectively challenged by the appellants by writ petition Nos. 3782/79 and 1538/80. W.P.NO.3782 of 1979 was dismissed on 27-1-1986 whereas W.P.No. 1538 of 1980 was dismissed on 16-4-1986. The present writ appeals W.A.979 of 1987 and W.A.1004 of 1987 relate to the judgments in W.P.Nos. 3782 of 1979 and 1538 of 1980 respectively.

(3.) Mr. S.R. Ashok, learned Counsel for the appellants firstly contended that the order of the Labour Court had been passed against the Railways by drawing adverse inference for not having produced the records in spite of the stand taken by the Railways that the records were liable to be destroyed after ten years in accordance with clause (2501-C) of the Railways Establishment Manual. The second submission urged by the Counsel relates to non-maintainability of the petitions under Section 33-C (2) of the Industrial Disputes Act as the very status of the workmen-petitioners of having become temporary employees was in dispute.