1. Rule.
With the consent of the parties, the matter is taken up for final hearing.
2. The present petition is directed against the order dated 12.07.2011 passed by the respondent no. 5 herein whereby the respondent no. 5 has rejected to refer the dispute to appropriate forum on the ground that the petitioner was not an employee of respondent Bank and therefore the dispute raised by him for regularization does not merit reference for adjudication.
3. Mr.
Mahendra Patel, learned advocate for the petitioner submitted that the respondent bank does not dispute employment of the petitioner and it has only raised dispute regarding completion of 240 days and therefore the respondent no. 5 could not have decided the merits/demerits of the dispute at its own more particularly when such disputes are to be referred, adjudicated and decided by the Labour Court only.
Having heard learned advocates for both the sides, this Court is of the opinion that the petitions deserves consideration inasmuch as whether the petitioner is an employee of the respondent Bank is to be decided by the competent court. The respondent no. 5 seems to have travelled beyond its scope of jurisdiction in deciding the said issue. It would have been appropriate for the respondent no. 5 to refer the dispute to the concerned Labour Court for decision regarding the same. The respondent no. 5 ought to have considered only the fact whether any industrial dispute arose between the parties and accordingly ought to have taken further action for adjudicating the issue by the concerned court if required. In the present case, as it appears from the record, the authority has not considered the above facts and legal contentions.
5. In the premises aforesaid, petition is allowed. The order dated 12.07.2011 passed by the respondent no. 5 herein is hereby quashed and set aside. The matter is remanded to the respondent no. 5 to decide whether there is any industrial dispute between the petitioner and the respondent or not and if found fit to adjudicate the matter to the concerned Tribunal/Labour Court. It is clarified that this court has not entered into the merits of the matter and therefore the respondent no. 5 shall not be influenced by the order of this Court. Rule is made absolute accordingly.
(K.S.
JHAVERI, J.) Divya// Top