Sardara Singh vs Ithad Motor Transport Pvt. Ltd.

Y.K. Sabharwal, J.

(1) This petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India is directed against the impugned order of the Labour Court dated 10/11/1973 made in L.C.A. No. 251 of 1973. Following the decision of a Single Bench of this Court the Labour Court by the impugned order held that status of workman having been challenged the Labour Court has no jurisdiction to entertain the claim of the petitioner u/s 33-C(2) of the Industrial Disputes Act. The application was held to be not maintainable. The decision of the Single Bench of this Court was, however, overruled by a Division Bench judgment of this Court in C.W. 1278/71 Re: Yed Ram v.BirSingh and Another, decided on 11/12/1973 and it was held that a mere denial by the employer about the existence of the relationship of workman and employer will not oust the jurisdiction of the specific Labour Court. The Division Bench also held that if it is contended by the employer that during the period for which the claim is made the applicant was not a workman as his services had been terminated or he had been dismissed, then the specific Labour Court will determine whether the services were terminated or workman was dismissed as alleged but will not go into the question of the validity of the determination of the dismissal. It was further held that it would not matter if the applicant was not a workman on the date of his application if it is proved that he was a workman during the relevant period for which the claim was made. In view of the Division Bench decision of this Court the impugned is liable to be quashed,

(2) The petition is, accordingly, allowed. The impugned order made by the Labour Court in L.C.A.251/73 is hereby quashed and the case is remanded to the Labour Court for decision on merits in accordance with law. There will be no order as to costs.