JANTA HIGH SCHOOL Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner school is a registered management under the registration of Societies Act. In this writ petition filed through the President of the School Management under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner-school seeks a direction for the quashing of the order contained in Annexure P-4 passed by the Presiding Judge of Labour Court in Reference No. /application No. 78 of 1994, whereby a direction to pay a sum of Rs. 12,451/- as arrears of salary to an employee Shri Gulab Chand Sharma under Section 33-C (2) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (hereinafter referred to as the 'act') was made.

(2.) THE facts may be shortly described, Petitioner-school has been established at Neen, Post Office Durgapur, Tehsil and District Shimla and is getting grant-in-aid from the State Government. Shri G. C. Sharma respondent herein approached the management of the school and told that he is a B. Sc. graduate and may be appointed as teacher as he wanted to procure four months' experience certificate of teaching enabling him to get regular Government job. The management asked him to produce his educational qualification certificate which Shri G. C. Sharma had assured that he would definitely produce the same later-on. Shri G. C. Sharma joined the service of the petitioner-school on April 8, 1992. The President of the Management Committee of the petitioner-school issued a letter dated April 12, 1994 to Shri G. C. Sharma asking him to produce his educational qualification certificate on or before April 13, 1994 and in default thereof his services shall stand terminated. The Principal of the petitioner-school informed the President of the Management that Shri G. C. Sharma teacher of the school refused to acknowledge the letter dated April 12, 1994 and further necessary action may be taken. It was on May 21, 1994 that the President of the Management Committee issued another letter No. 903 to Shri G. C. Sharma terminating his services as teacher w. e. f. May 6, 1994.

(3.) SHRI G. C. Sharma approached the Labour-cum-Conciliation Officer, Shimla raising an industrial dispute with regard to his termination by the Management of the petitioner-school. It appears that no settlement was arrived at and the Conciliation Officer submitted his failure report under Section 12 (4) of the Act to the Labour Commissioner. Himachal Pradesh. The Labour Commissioner declined to refer the dispute the adjudication to the Labour Court on the ground that Shri G. C. Sharma was employed as teacher and is not a workman under Section 2 (s) of the Act vide memorandum December, 1995 marked Annexure P-3 with the writ petition. It appears from the record that before the Labour Commissioner could pass the order on the failure report of the Conciliation Officer, Shri G. C. Sharma approached the Labour Court by means of application dated June 8, 1994 Annexure CX/2 filed under Section 33-C (2) of the Act. In that application, Shri G. C. Sharma claimed that the Management failed to pay his monthly salary from January 1994 to May 21, 1994 amounting to Rs. 15,896/- and interest on that amount at the rate of 18%.