BLOCK DEVELOPMENT AND PANCHAYAT OFFICER, KAHNNWAN Vs. PRESIDING OFFICER LABOUR COURT, GURDASPUR AND ANOTHER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition has been filed to quash the order of the Labour Court dated May 29, 1995.

(2.) Respondent No. 2 Mohan Singh was appointed as Panchayat Secretary on Sept. 9, 1980, for a period of eighty-nine days initially but his services were continued from time to time till May 23, 1983, on which date the services of respondent No. 2 were terminated. Thereafter, respondent No. 2 raised an industrial dispute which was referred to the Labour Court on Jan. 10, 1983. In the reference, District Development and Panchayat Officer, Gurdaspur, had been impleaded as a respondent. Accordingly, notice was sent to District Development and Panchayat Officer, Gurdaspur, as the said Officer had nothing to do with the Panchayat Samiti and he was neither appointing authority nor the employer under whom respondent No. 2 was working, he did not appear in pursuance of the notice received by him from the Labour Court and consequently an ex-parte award was passed on May 29, 1985, directing the reinstatement of respondent No. 2 into service. Thereafter, having come to know that an award has been passed in favour of respondent No. 2, the District Development and Panchayat Officer filed an application for setting aside the ex-parte order. That application was dismissed by the Labour Court in the impugned order. This Writ Petition has been filed by the Block Development and Panchayat Officer, Kahnuwan (Gurdaspur) against the orders of the Labour Court.

(3.) There is no dispute of the fact that respondent No. 2 Mohan Singh was appointed as a Panchayat Secretary by the Panchayat Samiti, Kahnuwan, represented by the Block Development and Panchayat Officer, Kahnuwan. The District Development and Panchayat Officer, was neither the appointing authority nor the employer under whom respondent No. 2 worked. Therefore, the proper and necessary party to the reference should be the Panchayat Samiti, Kahnuwan, represented by the Block Development and Panchayat Officer. It is evident from the award and also from the impugned order dated April 21, 1987, that neither the Block Development and Panchayat Officer, Kahnuwan, nor the Panchayat Samiti, Kahnuwan, was made a party to the proceedings before the Labour Court. Thus, it is clear that no proper and necessary party has been impleaded. The award passed against the District Development and Panchayat Officer, Gurdaspur, cannot be implemented against the Panchayat Samiti, Kahnuwan, or the Block Development and Panchayat Officer, Kahnuwan (Gurdaspur) as none of them had been impleaded as parties to the award. Therefore, the award is not binding on them. It is, therefore, in the interest of justice to set aside the award passed by the Labour Court on May 29, 1985, (Annexure P-1) and remand the matter to the Labour Court for fresh disposal in accordance with law after showing the respondent as panchayat Samiti, Kahnuwan, represented by Block Development and Panchayat Officer, Kahnuwan.