The Hindu Business Line : HC sets aside award of Labour Court

Chennai April 8 The Madras High Court allowed a writ petition by a dismissed employee of Thiruvannamalai Panchayat Union seeking his reinstatement in service with continuity of service and back wages.

According to the petitioner, Mr K. Seenan, an award was given on August 7, 1984 by the Labour Court, Vellore, directing Thiruvannamalai Panchayat Union to reinstate him with continuity of service and back wages. The Union filed a writ petition to set aside the ex parte award. The writ petition was allowed and matter was remitted to the Labour Court. The management was once again absent before the Labour Court, and the latter court by order dated October 19, 2000 dismissed the same. On same day, the second respondent Labour Court erroneously dismissed the main I.D.

Mr Justice K. Chandru said it was surprising that Labour Court should take up a matter which was not before it, and once the Labour Court decided to dismiss an application by management to set aside the ex parte award and that petition was dismissed, it stood to reason that the award was already confirmed and was on file.

Only in the event of management succeeding in its application, the question of restoring the I.D. to file would arise. It was a completely erroneous order made inadvertently. However, for this purpose, the writ petitioner need not have filed a writ petition and kept it pending for over six years unnecessarily.

The Judge said that if only the petitioner was advised regarding the availability of rule 55 of TN Industrial Dispute Rules, he could have very well approached the Labour Court and rectified the obvious mistake committed by the Labour Court. Quoting an order of the Supreme Court, the Judge said that the apex court had held that Section 6(6) of Industrial Disputes Act did not lay down expressly any time limit within which correctional jurisdiction could be exercised, and therefore, was not barred by limitation.

Regarding the current petition, the Judge said that since matter had been kept pending for over six years, this Court was not relegating parties to approach the Labour Court once again. Under these circumstances, impugned order of the Labour Court was held to be totally erroneous and misconceived, and consequently it stood set aside. The ex parte award of Labour Court on August 7, 1984 stood restored to file.

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