BISHAMBAR DASS Vs. PRESIDING OFFICER, LABOUR COURT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is aggrieved against the award dated 3.2.2006 passed by the Labour Court. Vide the impugned award the Labour Court dismissed the claim of the petitioner for re-instatement with continuity of service and back wage.

(2.) The facts emerge out from the records of the case are that the petitioner, at one point of time was Secretary of respondent No. 2-Society. There were allegations against him regarding misappropriation of funds of the Society. As such, he was ordered to be suspended vide resolution dated 9.11.1994. However, vide resolution dated 16.12.1994, he was ordered to be re-instatement. The resolution was sent to the Assistant Registrar Cooperative Societies, Jagraon. But instead of according approval to the said resolution dated 16.12.1994, the Assistant Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Jagraon vide letter dated 24.3.1995 recommended the suspension of the petitioner and ordered an enquiry against the petitioner. Accordingly, Enquiry Officers were appointed to enquire into the matter. The petitioner was served with two charge-sheets dated 9.5.1995 and 11.8.1995 containing 12 and 10 allegations respectively. The allegations were mainly of embezzling the amount from the funds of Society besides non-completion/ non-auditing of records; remaining absent from the office of Society; having partnership in a brick kiln without prior permission of the authorities; noncompliance of instructions of the higher authorities etc. The petitioner filed reply to the first charge-sheet dated 9.5.1995. However, no reply to the second charge-sheet was filed by him. The Enquiry Officers submitted their report against the petitioner. Ultimately, the Administrator of the Society vide resolution dated 20.12.1995 held that the charges levelled against the petitioner are proved. It accordingly ordered termination of the services of the petitioner from the Society w.e.f. 9.11.1994, the date on which he was suspended. Dissatisfied with the same, the petitioner preferred an appeal on 22.12.1995 before the Deputy Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Ludhiana, which was dismissed on 18.7.1996. His revision before the Joint Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Patiala, against the said order, was also dismissed on 13.6.1997.

(3.) Thereafter, the petitioner raised an industrial dispute challenging his termination on the ground that he was not afforded full opportunity of being heard during the enquiry. His further pleas were that the charges levelled against him were not proved and that his services were terminated with retrospective effect, by the Administrator, who has no authority to do so. The claim of the petitioner was resisted by the respondent-Society. Some preliminary objections viz. limitation; res judicata etc were raised. On merits, their stand was that the petitioner had in fact committed embezzlement of Rs. 326116.61 of the funds of Society. A fair and proper enquiry was held. Since the charges levelled against the petitioner were found proved, his services were rightly terminated from the Society.