STATE OF RAJASTHAN Vs. LABOUR COURT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) WHITE in the first writ petition being No. 3065/2001 challenge has been made to the exparte award dated 25. 1. 1996 and the order of the Labour Court dated 16. 3. 2001 rejecting application of the management for setting ex-parte award, in the second writ petition being No. 799/02 the challenge has been made to the order dated 1. 8. 2001 passed by the Labour Court under Section 33 (2) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 which is consequential to the award impugned in the writ petition No. 3065/2001. The State of Rajasthan feeling aggrieved by both the orders has filed these two writ petitions. For convenience of decision however facts of only one case namely, S. B. C. Writ Petition No. 3065/01 are being referred.

(2.) A reference was made to the Labour Court by the appropriate government on 3. 04. 1991 on the question whether removal of the respondent-workman from service of the management on 16. 09. 1986 was legally justified and if not what relief the workman is entitled to.

(3.) ON the other hand, Mr. J. Gehlot, learned counsel for the respondents argued that the application of the management for setting aside the ex-parte order was rightly rejected by the learned Labour Court inasmuch as no satisfactory explanation worth the name was given by the management as to why they did not contest the matter despite service and why did they not make the application for setting aside ex-parte order within the period of 15 days. No separate application for extension of time for another 15 days was filed. In the circumstances, the Labour Court was perfectly justified in rejecting the application. It has been argued that award passed by the Labour Court as also the subsequent order rejecting the application for setting aside ex- parte did not suffer from any error apparent on the face of the record. Learned counsel for the respondent workman argued that the order passed under Section 33-C (2) of the Act of 1947 which is not impugned in this writ petition was only consequential to the award passed by the Labour Court in the main case and therefore when the award itself is perfectly legally and justified, no challenge can be made to the correctness of the order dated 16. 3. 2001 passed u/s. 33-C (2) It has therefore been prayed that the writ petition be dismissed.