- (1.) THIS writ petition has been filed, inter alia, challenging the award dated 14.12.1999 passed in case No. VIII-130 of 1998 by the learned First Industrial Tribunal, West Bengal.
(2.) THE case of the petitioner is that he was appointed as a workman in the respondent No. 2's paper mill with effect from 2nd June, 1971 and his service was confirmed on and from 2nd June, 1972. Thereafter, the petitioner was appointed as Laboratory Assistant and worked in such capacity upto 1985. Subsequently, the company declared a lock out and the petitioner was rendered unemployed. When the company reopened under a new management and the petitioner continued as Laboratory Assistant with a new pay scale. Thereafter the designation of the petitioner was changed to Supervisor. It is the petitioner's case that although the designation of his post was that of a Supervisor he had no disciplinary control over any workman and had no independent right or authority to take any binding decision on behalf of the company. It is further the petitioner's case that during the course of his employment he was subject to an illegal disciplinary proceeding and dismissed from service. Over this, a reference was made for adjudication to the First Industrial Tribunal, West Bengal on the following issues : A. Whether the dismissal of Sri Ramen Chandra Ghosh from service w.e.f. 11.05.1996 by the management of M/s. Everest Paper Mills Pvt. Ltd. is justified ? B. To what relief, if any, he is entitled to ?
(3.) IN the course of adjudication, the parties filed their respective pleadings. At the outset, the respondent company took a preliminary point as to the jurisdiction of the Tribunal on the ground that the petitioner was not a workman under Section 2(s) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (hereinafter referred to as the ID Act).The petitioner, on the other hand, prayed for interim relief. As the issue as to whether the petitioner was a workman or not under Section 2(s) of the ID Act went to the very root of the jurisdiction of the Tribunal to decide the dispute on merits, the same was taken up for consideration first alongwith prayer for interim relief on behalf of the petitioner.;