- (1.) The Court : This writ petition arises out of the award dated, Mar 1983 made by the Second Industrial Tribunal, West Bengal in Cast VIlI-156/80.
(2.) The facts are briefly as follows : As a result of a domestic enquiry held against the respondent No. 3 Pranab Kumar Banerjee, the petitioner passed the order of dismissal against him. Over such dismissal a dispute was raised and a reference has been made by another of reference dated, August 2, 1980 to the Industrial Tribunal as follows : "Whether the termination of service with effect from 1st December 1975 of Shri Pranab Kumar Banerjee is justified ? To what relief, if any, is he entitled ?"
(3.) On or about 28th October 1980 Shri Banerjee filed a written statement, inter alia, alleging for the first time that no officer below the rank of Factory Manager was competent to initiate disciplinary proceedings and Shri K. K. Roy who issued the charge-sheet was not competent to issue such charge-sheet. The writ petitioner filed the written statement, inter alia, contending that Sri Banerjee at all material times was employed by the Company as one of its officers and the charges against Shri Banerjee has been fully proved improperly conducted, domestic enquiry. It was also denied that the management staff below the rank of Factory Manager was not competent to initiate disciplinary proceeding or that Shri K. K. Roy was not competent to issue the charge-sheet. The petitioner also challenged the maintainability of the reference. On or about 16th April 1981 the petitioner filed an application, inter alia, with a prayer to take up preliminary issue first in regard to the maintainability of the reference and subsequently on the question of validity of the enquiry proceedings in the event it is held by the learned Tribunal that it has jurisdiction to entertain the said order of reference. A copy of the said application is annexed with the writ petition. However, the petitioner did not press the preliminary objection on the first point i.e. whether Shri Banerjee is a workman or not and/or whether the Tribunal has jurisdiction to entertain the reference. The learned Judge has by his order No. 1S dated, August 4, 1981 held that Shri Banerjee was a workman within the meaning of the Industrial Dispute Act. Thereafter the learned Judge by order No.16 dated 1st September 1981 fixed September 22, 1981 for hearing on the validity of the domestic enquiry. On September 22, 1981 the company produced the enquiry officer and examined him in the matter of validity of the enquiry proceedings. The original minutes of the enquiry proceedings along with all the relevant documents were produced before the Tribunal. As the preliminary enquiry was limited to the question of the validity of the enquiry no other evidence was produced. Shri Banerjee also examined himself before the Tribunal.;