MUNICIPAL COMMITTEE Vs. PRESIDING OFFICER LABOUR COURT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These 14 writ petitions viz. Civil writ Petition Nos. 6093,6677,6678 to 6686,6715,14442 and 14459 of 1992 raise a common question: could the Labour Court have ordered the reinstatement of persons employed on work charged basis or daily wages in the circumstances of these cases ?

(2.) The Municipal Committee, Mandi Gobindgarh, is the petitioner in 12 of these cases. In the remaining two cases viz. Civil Writ Petitions Nos. 14442 & 14459 of 1992, the Municipal Committee, Rajpura is the petitioner. The petitioners are aggrieved by the awards given by the Labour Court by which it has been held that the termination of the services of the workman was in violation of the provisions of Section 25-F of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.(hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'). The respective workmen have been ordered to be reinstated with full back wages. In Civil Writ Petitions Nos. 6093,6677 and 6679 to 6686 of 1992, the workmen were engaged as Malis (Gardeners). In Civil Writ Petition No. 6678 of 1992, the Workman was engaged as a chowkidar. In Civil Writ Petition No. 6715 of 1992, the workman was engaged as a Mali-cum-chowkidar. In Civil Writ Petitions Nos. 14442 and 14459 of 1992, the workmen were employed as Beidars. Though the factual position in all the cases is almost identical, learned counsel for the parties have referred to the facts in Civil Writ Petition No. 6093 of 1992 only. These may be briefly noticed.

(3.) Bhupinder Singh was employed as a Mali. After he had worked for about two years, his services were terminated on December 1, 1987. He raised a dispute. It was referred to the Labour Court on June 13, 1988. The respondent filed a Statement of Claim in which he averred that his services had been arbitrarily and unjustly terminated "without any notice charge sheet, enquiry or compensation." He claimed reinstatement with continuity of service and full back wages. The petitioner contested the claim. It was inter alia pleaded that the applicant "was appointed purely temporary (temporarily) against the specified estimate for fixed period." It was also stated that "the applicant was voluntarily retired after the contract period was over." After recording the evidence, the Labour Court considered the matter and found that the workman had worked "for about one year continuously" and that his services had been terminated "without complying with the provisions of the said Section 25 F-----". It consequently ordered the reinstatement of the workman with full back wages. Aggrieved by this award of the Labour Court, the petitioner has approached this Court through the present writ petitions.