RAI BAHADUR DIWAN BADRI DASS Vs. INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNALPUNJABPATIALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India brought by the Board of Trustees of "The Tribune Trust, Ambala", hereinafter called the Trustees, is directed against the award of the Industrial Tribunal, Punjab, Patiala, dated the 25th October, 1960, by which an order passed by the Board of Trustees in their meeting dated the 12th March, 1960, dismissing Mr. W.M. Agnani, Sub-Editor of the Tribune has been held to be unjustified and contrary to law and Mr. Agnani has been held "entitled to be reinstated with continuity of service and full back wages."

(2.) It is alleged by the petitioners that Mr. Agnani was employed in 1948 as a Sub-Editor in the establishment of the Tribune. Sometimes in September, 1957 it came to the notice of the Trustees that he was engaged in compiling a Trade Directory called "The Punjab Trade Guide and Who's Who" and after getting an explanation from him the Trustees in their meeting held on the 27th and 28th January, 1958, passed a resolution giving him an option either to proceed on leave for nine months without pay to enable him to finish his work on the directory or sever his connections with the publication of the same as his association and work for the Directory interfered with his duties as a Sub- Editor. The operative part of the resolution is reproduced in paragraph 2 of the petition and is as under:

(3.) In pursuance of the above resolution an enquiry was conducted by the committee constituted for it and consisting of the President Rai Bahadur Diwan Badri Das, Kanwar Sir Dalip Singh and Mr. Ram Chandra. The committee, conducted the enquiry for as many as 10 days and gave full and complete opportunity to Mr. Agnani to defend himself. Nine charges were levelled against him which were mentioned in detail in the charge-sheet copy of which is Annexure B to the petition. Mr. Agnani submitted a reply to the said charge- sheet (copy Annexure Rule 1 to his written statement). As a result of the enquiry the committee came to the conclusion that all the charges mentioned in the charge-sheet, except those at Nos. 3 and 5, were proved. The matter then came up before the meeting of the Trustees on March 12, 1960, and by means of a resolution passed at that meeting it was decided that the services of Mr. Agnani may be terminated with effect frOm the afternoon of the 13th March, 1960, by way of a disciplinary action as punishment for his continuous misconduct. A copy of the said resolution was sent to Mr. Agnani (copy Annexure C to the present petition). The workers of the Tribune Trust then raised an industrial dispute with regard to the dismissal of Mr. Agnani and ultimately the Punjab State referred the said dispute for adjudication to the Industrial Tribunal, Punjab, patiala, by means of Notification No. 332-Lab (1)-60/14081, dated the 4th May, 1960. The precise point referred to the Tribunal was "whether the termination of the services Mr. W.M. Agnani was made by the management with a motive of victimisation on account of his trade union activities and it was otherwise mala fide, unjustified or bad in law. If so, to what relief is he entitled?" Both the parties filed statements of their cases before the Tribunal and then each of them examined some evidence in support of the same. The Tribunal gave an award on the 25th of October, 1960 which was published in the Punjab Government Gazette dated the 25th November, 1960, vide Notification No. 12074-Lab (1)-60/34989. In the said award the Tribunal gave no definite findings on the first two points, namely, wither the order of Mr. Agnani's dismissal was actuated by motives of victimisation on account of his trade union activities or was otherwise mala fide. The Tribunal, however, found that the order of dismissal was unjustified and bad in law and on these two grounds the order of dismissal was quashed and Mr. Agnani was ordered to be reinstated with continuity of service and full back wages. The Tribunal held that the enquiry in respect of charges Nos. 1 to 8 was wholly unauthorised and that the subject-matter of charge No. 9 being entirely a private affair of Mr. Agnani did not fall within the ambit of disciplinary jurisdiction of the employers. Aggrieved against the said award the Trustees have come up to this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India and seek to have an appropriate writ, direction or order quashing the award. The respondents in the petition are the Industrial Tribunal, Punjab, Patiala, the State of Punjab and Mr. Agnani, and they are arrayed as respondents Nos. 1, 2 and 3 respectively.