ASHWIN N ACHARYA Vs. OKHA PORT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By means of this petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has challenged the legality and validity of the award made by the Presiding Officer of the Second Labour Court at Rajkot on 17th October 1991 holding the order passed by the concerned authority of the respondent on 1st October 1976 terminating the services of the petitioner to be legal and valid

(2.) The facts giving rise to this petition may be summarised thus: The petitioner was appointed as a daily-rated workman by the order passed on 27th November 1974 by the Superintending Engineer - Designs (Ports) at Rajkot. A copy of the order is at Annexure-A to this petition. Later on, by the order passed by the Superintending Engineer (Ports) at Rajkot on 19th March 1975, the petitioner came to be appointed as a Tradesman (Fitter) in the pay-scale of Rs. 130-240 on a temporary basis and posted at Okha. A copy of his order of appointment of 19th March 1975 is at Annexure-B to this petition. It appears that, by the order passed on 1st October 1976 by the Superintending Engineer-Designs (Ports) at Bhavnagar, the services of the petitioner were ordered to be terminated presumably with immediate effect. Thereupon the petitioner came to be relieved from his services with effect from 4th October 1976 after office hours. A copy of "the order relieving him from services is at Annexure-C to this petition. The petitioner thereupon raised an industrial dispute and it was referred to the Labour Court at Rajkot for adjudication under Section 10(1)(c) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (the 'Act' for brief). It was registered as Reference (LCR) No. 73 of 1978. It appears to have been assigned to the Second Labour Court at Rajkot. After recording evidence and hearing the parties, the learned Presiding Officer of the Second Labour Court at Rajkot, by his judgment and order passed on 17th October 1979 in Reference (LCR) No. 73 of 1978, was pleased to reject the reference holding the impugned order of termination of services of the petitioner to be legal and valid. The petitioner was however awarded compensation in the sum of Rs. 2,000/- from the respondent herein. A copy of the judgment and order passed by the Second Labour Court at Rajkot on 17th October 1979 in Reference (LCR) No. 73 of 1978 is at Annexure-D to this petition. The aggrieved petitioner has thereupon approached this Court by way of this petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India.

(3.) It may be mentioned at this stage that the Labour Court has found the order of termination not according to law. At that stage it appears that the respondent tried to justify the order on the ground that it was by way of punishment for certain acts of misconduct on the part of the present petitioner. The Labour Court has permitted the respondent herein to lead evidence in the adjudication proceedings in support of its case that the conduct of the petitioner warranted the disciplinary action of imposition of the extreme penalty of his discharge from service.