The petitioners are the legal heirs of the deceased employee of the 1st respondent Bank. The deceased predecessor of the petitioners was terminated from service, against which the terminated employee had filed A.R.C No.78 of 2008 challenging the termination and seeking a reinstatement. During the pendency of the arbitration case, the employee died on 14.08.2011 and the legal heirs sought impleadment by Ext.P2 on 24.10.2011. The Arbitration Court by Ext.P5 found that there is the prayer, is limited against the termination and seeking reinstatement and by virtue of the death of the employee, nothing survives. 2. The impleading petition was rejected and the suit was dismissed as abated. It is to be noticed that the respondent Bank taken up a contention before the Arbitration Court that there was no termination effected as W.P.(C) No.25531 of 2013 - N 2 such and the employee in fact submitted resignation pursuant to which his services had ceased. In any event, the fact that the employee had only sought for reliefs against the termination and specifically prayed for reinstatement cannot mean that the employee would not have been entitled to the consequential reliefs, if the case is allowed; despite the death of the employee. The legal heirs have not been impleaded in the party array and if impleaded the legal heirs could also seek for amendment of the prayers.
3. In such circumstance, Ext.P5 order passed by the Arbitration Court is found to be improper and illegal. Ext.P5 would stand set aside. The petitioner's amendment application would necessarily have been allowed to waste in further time. Ext.P2 shall be taken as allowed. The petitioner shall file any amendment application within a period of one month from today and the Arbitration Court shall after giving an opportunity to both the petitioners as also the respondent Bank decide the matter within three W.P.(C) No.25531 of 2013 - N 3 months thereafter. The petitioners and the respondent Bank shall appear before the Arbitration Court on 10.12.2014. A.R.C. No. 78 of 2008 will stand restored to the files of the Arbitration Court and the petitioner will stand implead as the employees legal heirs.
The writ petition is disposed of.
K. VINOD CHANDRAN, JUDGE SB