Dr. B.S. Chauhan, J. - (1.) All these petitions have been filed against the judgment and order of the Non-Governmental Educational Institutions Tribuanl dated 17.8.99, by which the claims of the employees have been accepted.
(2.) In all these cases, the employees have been appointed by the present petitioner on different dates ranging from July 1995 to August 1996. The employees had worked for a reasonable period and suddenly they were not permitted to work or even sign in the attendance register. Being aggrieved and dissatisfied, they approached the authorities under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (for short, "the I.D. Act"). The conciliation proceedings remained pending for a long time and ultimately it was pointed out that the teachers are not "workmen" therefore, they did not fall within the ambit of the I.D. Act. Immediately thereafter, all these employees approached the learned Tribunal and after hearing the parties, the Tribunal passed the impugned judgments and orders granting relief to all the employees involved in these cases and directed the present petitioner to reinstate them with all consequential benefits. Hence these petitions.
(3.) Mr. Mathur, learned counsel for the petitioner, has submitted that the petitions have been filed at a very belated stage before the Tribunal and the same could not have been entertained being hopelessly time-barred.;