APOLLO TYRES LTD Vs. HAMINDER SINGH SAIHGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE employer in Special Civil Application No. 4906 of 2008 as well as the workman in Special Civil Application No. 6473 of 2008 have challenged the order in award passed by the Labour Court, Vadodara, in Reference (LCV) No. 1200 of 1994, dated 29.10.2007, for respective reasons, namely order of reinstatement with 40% backwages is challenged by the employer and deduction of 60% backwages is challenged by the workman.

(2.) FACTS in brief leading to filing these petitions deserve to be set out as under. The workman was placed under suspension on 10.2.1994 and an inquiry was ordered and chargesheet came to be issued on 16.2.1994, inter alia alleging that the workman was guilty of committing serious misconduct of hatching conspiracy and inciting fellow workman and as a result whereof fellow workman assaulted his superior who was required to be hospitalized on account of grievous hurt for which the police complaint was lodged against the one who was assaulted, wherein the workman was not named as one of the conspirator, but the assault was viewed to be result of conspiracy hatched by the present workman who was perceived to be ar. instrumentality in the assault suffered by the victim called Dilbag Singh who had received assault injury on account of he being assaulted by Trilok Singh, the fellow workman. On this facts chargesheet proceeded and ultimately it culminated into punishment of dismissal from service which was subject matter of dispute which came to be referred to competent Court wherein it was registered as (LCV) No. 1200/1994, and after recording its findings came to the conclusion that one of the witnesses in the inquiry deposed that the workman was indulged in selling liquor and other merchandise on the premises of the factory which was objected by security inspector and victim Dilbag Singh, hence he must have instigated Trilok Singh the one who assaulted for making assault upon him and therefore the order came to be passed by the Labour Court awarding compensation of Rs. One lakh maintaining the termination order vide its order in award dated 14.5.1999, which was assailed by the workman by preferring Special Civil Application No.6812 of 1999, which came to be disposed of by this Court on 2.7.2007. The order whereof is reproduced as under: - ''The facts of the present case in a nutshell are that a chargesheet was issued to the present petitioner, the petitioner filed his reply and an inquiry was conducted and after second show cause notice, the petitioner was terminated from services. The petitioner filed a dispute before the learned Labour Court; the parties led evidence. The learned Labour Court held that from the statements of the witnesses of the Establishment, it would clearly appear that the present petitioner was engaged in selling of illicit liquor and such conduct was improper and contrary to the service conditions. However, the learned Labour Court held that for such an act of the petitioner, his removal from the services was a harsh punishment. Instead of maintaining the punishment of removal, the Court directed that dismissal would be proper, but, the respondent shall pay a sum of Rs. 1 Lakh to the petitioner as compensation. Being aggrieved by the said award, the petitioner is before this Court.

(3.) THUS , this Court remanded the matter back with an observation that the parties be heard without permitting to lead further evidence in support of their respective cases. On remand Labour Court extensively heard the parties and came to specific conclusion that there exists no chargesheet qua the charge which charge is of selling illicit liquor or merchandise in the premises of factory and accordingly held that the order of reinstatement is required to be made, however instead of granting full backwages it was thought fit to grant 40% backwages and accordingly passed order in award dated 29.10.2007 which was subject matter of challenge in this Court by both the sides, i.e. the employer against granting of reinstatement with 40% backwages in SCA No.4906 of 2008, and so far as the workman is concerned, SCA No. 6473 of 2008 is filed for full backwages with reinstatement.