BHUVNESHWAR DUTT, SON OF SHRI CHUHRI RAM, RESIDENT OF VILLAGE RIVUTI, POST OFFICE RAJGARH, TEHSIL AND DISTRICT MANDI, H.P. Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, THROUGH SECRETARY (IRRIGATION AND PUBLIC HEALTH), TO THE GOVERNMENT OF H.P., SHIMLA-2.,

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE services of the petitioner, who was working as a Mate in the Irrigation and Public Health Department since 21.10.1987, were retrenched vide notice dated 15.12.1994, issued by respondent No. 2. The said retrenchment order was assailed by some of the workers before the erstwhile H.P. State Administrative Tribunal. The matter was then referred to the Labour Court and the order of retrenchment of the petitioner was held to be legal and valid. In the reply filed by the respondents, they have pleaded that the present petition filed by the petitioner was time barred, was not maintainable being res judicata under Section 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure and the award of the Labour Court, dated 12.12.1996, has attained finality and the present petition filed after 13 years is now time barred. It has also been pleaded that the case of the petitioner was already disposed of in pursuance of the statement made by the petitioner and others on 22.10.1994.

(2.) DURING the course of arguments, the learned counsel for the petitioner has relied upon the judgment passed by a learned Single Judge of this Court in CWP No. 4805 of 2009, titled Lekh Ram versus State of H.P. and others, decided on 16.4.2012, in which the petitioner was also similarly placed as the present petitioner and the learned Single Judge had dismissed the petition holding that there was no material irregularity in the order passed by the Labour Commissioner. Relevant portion of the said judgment is reproduced below: