SIDDHARTHA VARMA, J. - (1.) After the respondent's services were terminated on 31.5.2000 while working as a Conductor with the petitioners consequent to a full fledged departmental enquiry, the respondent no.1 raised an industrial dispute which was referred by the State Government on 18.5.2004. The reference was as follows: ...[VERNACULAR TEXT OMITTED]...
(2.) When the reference was answered in favour of the workman/respondent on 3.1.2009 and was ordered to be reinstated with 50 percent back wages, the petitioner filed the instant writ petition.
(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner, Sri S.K. Mishra submitted that the Labour Court being a Court of Reference was bound to answer the reference only to the extent the reference was made. He could have travelled beyond it. It had only to find out as to whether the termination as was done by the order dated 31.5.2000 was proper and if it was found that it was wrongly done then it had to be given out as to what relief the respondent no.1 was entitled for. In this regard he relied upon 2004 (101) FLR 219 (SC) (Mukand Ltd. v. Mukand Staff and Officers' Association). In this judgment as the counsel specifically read out paragraph-24 the same is being reproduced here as under : "24. We have already referred to the order of Reference dated 17.2.1993 in paragraph supra. The dispute referred to by the order of Reference is only in respect of workmen employed by the appellant-Company. It is, therefore, clear that the Tribunal, being a creature of the Reference, cannot adjudicate matters within the purview of the dispute actually referred to it by the order of Reference. In the facts and circumstances of the present case, the Tribunal could have adjudicated the issues of the salaries of the employees who are workmen under the Act nor could it have covered such employees by its award. Even assuming, without admitting, that the Reference covered the non-workmen, the Tribunal, acting within its jurisdiction under the Act, could have adjudicated the dispute insofar as it related to the ' non-workmen.";