WANKANER MUNICIPALITY Vs. PRABHABEN BABUBHAI KHENGAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By way of this petition, the petitioner has prayed to quash and set aside the judgment and award passed by the Labour Court, Rajkot in Reference (LCR) No.764/1989 dated 22.01.2002, whereby, the said reference was partly allowed and the petitioner has been directed to reinstate the respondent on his original post with continuity of service and 50% back wages.

(2.) The facts in brief are that the respondent was serving as a daily wage labourer with the petitioner-Municipality. It is the case of the petitioner that the respondent voluntarily abandoned his services with the petitioner w.e.f. 16.03.1988. However, subsequently, he raised an industrial dispute, which, ultimately, culminated into a reference before the Labour Court, Rajkot. The Court below, after considering the evidence on record, partly allowed the reference by way of the impugned award. Hence, this petition.

(3.) Heard learned counsel for the respective parties and perused the documents on record. After appreciating the entire evidence on record, the Court below found that the petitioner-Municipality had committed breach of the mandatory provisions of Section 25F of the I.D. Act. while terminating the services of the respondent. It transpires from the record that the respondent had rendered more than 240 days of service, however, while terminating his services, no Notice or any Notice Pay or retrenchment compensation was paid to him. Therefore, the action of the petitioner-Municipality was clearly illegal and bad in law. In my opinion, the Court below has not committed any illegality while directing the petitioner to reinstate the respondent in service.