V.K.Mehrotra, J. - (1.) Satya Deo Pandey was employed in the Watch and Ward Department at the Muir Mills at Kanpur. Muir Mills is now a unit of M/s National Textile Corporation, U. P. The duty of Satya Deo Pande was to take rounds during the duty period He was on duty from midnight of November 22, 1976 till 8 00 a.m on November 23, 1976. A surprise check was made at 4.45 a m when Satya Deo was found to be sleeping in his office. This being a misconduct under the Standing Orders applicable to the employees of the Company, a charge-sheet was given to Satya Deo and after a domestic inquiry, an order of dismissal was passed. bis was on November 1, 1977. Satya Deo was dismissed with effect from that date. The Workmen Muir Mills took up the matter and at their instance a reference was made by the State of Uttar Pradesh under Section 4-K of the U. P. Industrial Disputes Act. The reference was before the Labour Court III It was registered and tried as Adj Case No 103 of 1978 The Labour Court gave an award dated February 20 1980. It upheld the order of dismissal. The present petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution was then filed in which the workmen through the Suti Mill Mazdoor Union and Satya Deo Pandey are petitioner Nos. 1 and 2 The employer, namely. M/s. National Textile Corporation is the second respondent.
(2.) Sri Gopi Krishna Sahai was appeared on behalf of the petitioners. His first submission is that the enquiry was not conducted by an Officer empowered to do so which vitiates the enquiry as well as the conclusion of the punishing authority dismissing Satya Deo Pandey based on it. The argument is that as Senior Law Officer Sri G P Singh could only issue a charge-sheet, as was done by him but could not conduct the domestic enquiry as he was not entrusted with the power of the Manager in that regard in the notice containing delegation of powers which has been filed as Annexure HI to the petition and which was paper No. Ext. 3.04 to the proceedings before the Labour Court
(3.) A look at annexure11 shows that amongst others Sri G. P. Singh was authorised to exercise all the powers of the Manager in respect of the matters mentioned against his name in the last column. That column does not specifically mention the power to conduct domestic enquiry.;