KAULESHWAR SHARMA Vs. PRESIDING OFFICER, LABOUR COURT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this Writ petition, the award of the Labour Court (Annexure -7) made in Reference Case No. 12/1987 dated 25.10.2000 is sought to be quashed. By this award, the Labour Court disposed of the reference on the preliminary issue of non -maintainability of reference and did not consider other issues which had been framed for consideration and adjudication. The petitioner has challenged the validity of the award on the ground that the Labour Court could not have dismissed the Reference on the ground of maintainability as the Labour Court was legally bound to answer the Reference and thus, to adjudicate all the issues that were framed by it after hearing the parties. The learned Labour Court found the Reference not maintainable on the ground that the Reference was stale,

(2.) IN the aforesaid circumstances, the questions to be answered in this writ petition are (i) whether the Labour Court can examine the staleness of the Reference and can dispose of the reference holding that it is non -maintainable (ii) whether the Labour Court is required to answer all the issues and (iii) whether the High Court can interfere with the impugned award?

(3.) AFTER the Reference, which was numbered as Reference Case No. 12/1987, the petitioner as well as the respondents filed their written statements before the Labour Court, including the rejoinders to the pleadings. In the written statement, the petitioner challenged the domestic enquiry as well as the order of dismissal and the respondents challenged the validity of the Reference and also averred that the petitioner was not a workman, besides taking a plea of staleness of the Reference.