BHAGABAN BEHERA Vs. PRESIDING OFFICER INDUSTRIAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ application is directed against the award dated 2.2.1995 passed by the Industrial Tribunal, Orissa, Bhubaneswar in I.D. Case No. 2 of 1993.

(2.) THE workmen are the petitioners before this Court. The petitioners were engaged as Khalasis under the erstwhile Rural Engineering Organisation (re named as Minor Irrigation Department) of Dhenkanal Division. The Petitioner No. 1 was engaged on 15.7.1962, Petitioner No. 2 on 1.2.1973, Petitioner No. 3 on 1.9.1972, Petitioner No. 4 on 2.9.1968 and Petitioner No. 5 on 1.2.1967. They were allowed to continue as NMR employees till the year 1984 when the Chief Engineer, Minor Irrigation issued a letter to the Executive Engineer or 22.3.1984 directing to retrench all work charged employees irregularly appointed after 1.11.1973 with effect from 1.4.1984. Even though the petitioners were engaged on 1.11.1973 all of them were retrenched by May, 1984. The petitioners 1 to 3 approached this Court in O.J.C. No. 1572 of 1984 and petitioners 4 and 5 approached in O.J.C. No. 1573 of 1984 praying for a direction to allow them to continue in service and regularise their services. While the writ applications were pending before this Court, State Administrative Tribunal was constituted and both the writ applications were transferred to the State Administrative Tribunal for adjudication. Both the applications were rejected vide order dated 2.1.1990. Thereafter the petitioners raised a dispute before the Opp. Party No. 4 and prayed for conciliation on the ground that they have been retrenched illegally and the provisions contained in Section 25 F of the Industrial Disputes Act have not been complied with. Conciliation having failed, failure report was submitted before the appropriate Government and on consideration of failure report, the following reference was made to the Tribunal for adjudication. 'Whether the retrenchment of Sarbasri Bhagaban Behera, Sarat Chandra Behera, Bansidhar Parida, Raghunath Garnaik and Dukhabandhu Rout by the management of Minor Irrigation Division, Dhenkanal by their order dated 30.4.1984 is legal and/or justified ? If not, what relief the workmen are entitled to ?' The Tribunal in the impugned award without answering the reference on merit referring to the order passed by the Orissa Administrative Tribunal held that the reference is barred by constructive res judicata and the appropriate Government could not have made any reference on the same issue.

(3.) SECTION 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 provides that where the appropriate Government is of opinion that any industrial dispute exists or is apprehended, it may at any time, by order in writing refer the dispute to the Labour Court or the Industrial Tribunal, as the case may be. Sub section (2 A) of Section 10 of the Act provides that an order referring an industrial dispute to a Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal shall specify the period within which such Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal shall submit its award on such dispute to the appropriate Government, Therefore, prima facie, there appears to be some force in the contention of the learned counsel for the petitioners that once reference is made to the Industrial Tribunal for adjudication by the appropriate Government, the dispute has to be answered by way of an award.