GAJENDRAGADKAR, J. - (1.) IN this appeal by special leave the appellant, Messers. Orissa Cement, Ltd., Challenges the correctness and the validity of the award passed by the industrial tribunal directing it to reinstate its workman, Shiv Sagar Singh, the respondent, to his former post of electrical wireman and pay him all his back wages from 11 February, 1956, the date of his discharge. This award was pronounced in a reference made to the industrial tribunal in regard to the discharge of the respondent.
(2.) IT appears that the respondent was appointed by the appellant as a temporary wireman on 5 July 1951, on a salary of Rs. 2 per day. Early in 1951 the electricity inspector of the State of Orissa who had visited the appellant's factory informed the appellant that only such wireman could be permitted to work who passed the requisite examination and possessed a permit in that behalf. Subsequently, intimation was received by the appellant from the secretary, licensing board that all electricians and wiremen working in the factory should be directed to appear in the ensuing year's examination. The appellant then sent a list of its wiremen who did not possess the requisite permit and requested that they be exempted from appearing for the prescribed examination. This request was refused and the appellant was told to ask all its wiremen to appear for the examination. Accordingly, all the wiremen appeared for the examination but the respondent failed. Thereupon, the appellant applied to the industrial tribunal to discharge him and others from service, and the tribunal permitted the appellant to discharge the respondent and others who had failed if they failed to pass the examination at a second chance. Meanwhile, the secretary, licensing board, had agreed to give the appellant's wiremen who had failed at the first attempt another chance to appear for the examination at the request of the appellant; accordingly, such of the appellant's wiremen including the respondent who had failed at the first attempt appeared for the examination again. Even at the second chance the respondent did not succeed, and so the appellant terminated his services on 11 February 1956. At the time of his discharge all his dues were paid to him.The respondent then made a complaint under S.23 of the Industrial Disputes (Appellate Tribunal) Act. XLVIII of 1950 that he had been wrongly discharged on 11 February 1956, during the pendency before a bench of the Appellate Tribunal of an appeal in which he was concerned. His contention was that S.22 of the Appellate Act of 1950 had been contravened by the appellant. The Appellate Tribunal held that the appellant had not contravened S.22 of the said Act and so the complaint made by the respondent was not maintainable. No doubt, it found that there was nothing in the Orissa Government Electricity Rules which prohibited the employment of the respondent in the appellant's service merely because he had failed to pass the wiremen's permit examination; even so it was satisfied that the appellant had acted bona fide and was justified in terminating the respondent's service.
(3.) AFTER this decision was pronounced the said termination of the respondent's services was raised as an industrial dispute and the same was referred to the industrial tribunal for adjudication. There is no doubt that, since the decision of the Appellate Tribunal on a complaint made under S.23 of the Appellate Act of 1950 was based on a preliminary finding that S. 22 had not been contravened, an industrial dispute in regard to the same subject matter could be raised. That is how the said dispute came before the industrial tribunal for adjudication as an industrial dispute.;