- (1.) The employer has challenged an award dated April 4, 2001 passed by the First Industrial Tribunal with regard to a reference in relation to the private respondent.
(2.) By the impugned award the Industrial Tribunal has held that the order of termination passed by the employer on January 18, 1992 is illegal and whimsical. It has set aside such order of termination. It has directed the employer to reinstate and absorb the private respondent in the post of a Junior Clerk in Library department with all back wages and consequential benefits from January 18, 1992 till he is reinstated in the service within three months from the date of the award.
(3.) Learned Advocate for the employer had submitted that, the private respondent was a trainee. A trainee is not a workman within the meaning of Section 2(s) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. Consequently, there could not have been any reference to the Industrial Tribunal. The Industrial Tribunal ought not to have adjudicated such reference. In any event, such adjudication is without jurisdiction and, therefore, a nullity. He has referred to the definition of Section 2(s) given in the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 as also the definition of "retrenchment" in Section 2(oo)(bb) and Section 25F of the Act of 1947 defining retrenchment of workman. He has submitted that, the petitioner was appointed as a trainee by the employer in terms of the letter dated October 23, 1987. He was terminated on January 18, 1992. The private respondent had accepted by a writing dated January 18, 1992, that he was lazy and that he had lacked initiative, lacked intelligence to understand the policies and procedures of the library and that he was reluctant to accept the directions and instructions from the superior officers. Inasmuch as an employer and workman relationship did not exist between the employer and the private respondent, the award is a nullity. Furthermore, the Tribunal had erred in directing the employer to absorb the private respondent to the post of Junior Clerk under the Library department when the private respondent was not appointed as such. The Industrial Tribunal has no jurisdiction to create a post and direct an employer to absorb any of its employees to such post. The direction contained in the impugned award to the effect that, the private respondent should be reinstated and absorbed in a post of Junior Clerk under the library department is, therefore, illegal.;