BABU LAL Vs. STATE BANK OF BIKANER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner herein has assailed the order dated June 30, 1998 passed by the Department of Labour, Government of India (as contained in Annexure-3 to this writ petition) by which his application for initiation of reference of dispute under Section 12 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 has been rejected.

(2.) The facts of the case in so far as it is relevant for deciding the controversy raised herein are that the the petitioner Babu Lal had set up a sweets shop in front of the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur across the road from where he was supplying (drinking water in pitchers after charging some money from the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur. An idea suddenly appears to have struck him that he could be treated as a workman under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 so as to claim regularisation of his services with the respondent-Bank and hence he filed a suit before the Civil Judge-cum-Judicial Magistrate-Gangapur city for regularisation of his services and also filed an application for injunction restraining the respondent from preventing the petitioner to supply water to the Bank which according to the petitioner would amount to termination of his services as per the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.

(3.) The petitioner's application for injunction was rejected by the Civil Judge-cum-Judicial Magistrate on the ground that the petitioner is not a workman in the eye of law. The petitioner thereafter withdrew the suit from the Court of Civil Judge which did not deter him from his pursuit as he then filed an application for initiation of a reference of dispute under the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947 which was rejected by the Department of Labour, Government of India by order dated June 30, 1998 as contained in Annexure-3 stating therein mat, the workman has not put in 240 days of service in 12 consecutive months.