Himachal Pradesh High Court
Ltd. And Others vs The State Of Himachal Pradesh And ... on 9 October, 2023
Bench: Ajay Mohan Goel
IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA
.
CWP No.3814 of 2023 a/w
CWPs No.3815, 3816, 3817
and 3818 of 2023
Decided on: 09.10.2023
CWP No.3814 of 2023
The Director of Himalaya Communications
Ltd. and others ....Petitioners.
Versus
The State of Himachal Pradesh and Ors. .... Respondents.
CWP No.3815 of 2023
The Director of Himalaya Communications
Ltd. and others ....Petitioners.
Versus
The State of Himachal Pradesh and Ors. .... Respondents.
CWP No.3816 of 2023
The Director of Himalaya Communications
Ltd. and others ....Petitioners.
Versus
The State of Himachal Pradesh and Ors. .... Respondents.
CWP No.3817 of 2023
The Director of Himalaya Communications
Ltd. and others ....Petitioners.
Versus
The State of Himachal Pradesh and Ors. .... Respondents.
CWP No.3818 of 2023
The Director of Himalaya Communications
Ltd. and others ....Petitioners.
Versus
The State of Himachal Pradesh and Ors. .... Respondents.
::: Downloaded on - 11/10/2023 20:34:21 :::CIS
2
Coram
Hon'ble Mr. Justice Ajay Mohan Goel, Judge.
.
Whether approved for reporting?1 Yes
For the petitioner (s) : Mr. Rahul Mahajan, Advocate, in all
the petitions.
For the Respondents : Mr. Rupinder Singh Thakur, Mr.
Pushpinder Jaswal, Additional
Advocate Generals, with Ms. Ranjna
Patial, Mr. Sumit Sharma, Deputy
Advocate Generals, for respondents
No.1 and 2State, in all the petitions.
Private respondents, in all the
petitions, present in person.
Ajay Mohan Goel, Judge (Oral)
As common issues of fact and law are involved in all
these petitions, the same are being disposed of by a common order.
2. The petitioners herein are aggrieved by orders dated
13.05.2023, passed by the Chairman, National Lok Adalat, in
terms whereof, the Claim Petitions filed by the private respondents
herein have been ordered to be transferred from the Industrial
TribunalcumLabour Court, Shimla, to the Industrial Tribunal
cumLabour Court Kangra at Dharamshala.
3. Brief facts necessary for the adjudication of all these
petitions are that the private respondents are workmen, who
feeling aggrieved by termination of their service by the petitioners,
filed Claim Petitions under Section 2A of the Industrial Disputes
Act before learned Industrial TribunalcumLabour Court, Shimla.
During the pendency of these petitions, all of them independently
Whether reporters of the local papers may be allowed to see the judgment?
filed applications for transfer of the Claim Petitions from the
.
Industrial TribunalcumLabour Court, Shimla, to the Industrial
TribunalcumLabour Court Kangra at Dharamshala, citing their
personal difficulties to proceed with the said Claim Petitions at
Shimla. These applications were filed by the private respondents
before the Secretary, Labour & Employment, to the Government of
Himachal Pradesh.
4. Secretary (Labour & Employment), to the Government
of Himachal Pradesh forwarded the same to the Labour
CommissionercumDirector of Employment, to the Government of
Himachal Pradesh, vide communication dated 29.04.2023, with
the request to take appropriate action thereupon. Copies thereof
also forwarded to the Presiding Judge, Industrial Tribunalcum
labour Court, Shimla. National Lok Adalat vide order dated
13.05.2023, which stand impugned by way of these petitions,
ordered the transfer of all the Claim Petitions of the private
respondents from Industrial TribunalcumLabour Court, Shimla,
to the Industrial TribunalcumLabour Court Kangra at
Dharamshala,
5. Learned counsel for the petitioners has argued that the
impugned orders passed by the National Lok Adalat, transferring
the Claim Petitions from Shimla to Dharamshala were per se illegal
as in terms of the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, there is
no power conferred upon learned Labour Court to order any such
.
transfer. Learned counsel drew the attention of the Court to
Section 33 (b) of the Industrial Disputes Act and argued that in
terms of the said Section, it is only the "Appropriate Government"
which may, by order in writing, and for reasons to be stated
therein, transfer any proceeding from one Labour Court to another.
In the absence of any such power being conferred upon the
Labour Court, passing of the impugned orders by the National Lok
Adalat was per se illegal. Accordingly, he prayed that the petitions
be allowed and the impugned orders be set aside, with further
direction to the concerned Presiding Judge, Industrial Tribunal
cum labour Court, Shimla to adjudicate the Claim Petitions from
the stage they were at the time of passing of the impugned orders.
6. The private respondents, who are present in the Court
in person have submitted that they do not want to engage any
lawyer. They were heard in person by the Court.
7. Therefore, the orders passed by the Chairman,
National Lok Adalat (who incidently was also the Presiding Judge
of the Labour Court, Shimla at the relevant time) ordering the
transfer of the Claim Petitions of the private respondents from the
Court of learned Industrial TribunalcumLabour Court, Shimla to
learned Industrial TribunalcumLabour Court Kangra at
Dharamshala, is prima facie in violation of the provisions of Section
.
33 B of the Industrial Disputes Act.
8. Section 33B of the Industrial Disputes Act deals with
power to transfer certain proceedings. It provides as under:
"33B. 2 Power to transfer certain proceedings.
(1) The appropriate Government may, by order in
writing and for reasons to be stated therein, withdraw
any proceeding under this Act pending before a Labour
Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal and transfer the
same to another Labour Court, Tribunal or National
Tribunal, as the case may be, for the disposal of the
proceeding and the Labour Court, Tribunal or National
Tribunal to which the proceeding is so transferred may,
subject to special directions in the order of transfer,
proceed either de novo or from the stage at which it
was so transferred: Provided that where a proceeding
under section 33 or section 33A is pending before a
Tribunal or National Tribunal, the proceeding may also
be transferred to a Labour Court.
(2) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub section
(1), any Tribunal or National Tribunal, if so authorized
by the appropriate Government, may transfer any
proceeding under section 33 or section 33A pending
before it to any one of the Labour Courts specified for
the disposal of such proceedings by the appropriate
Government by notification in the Official Gazette and
the Labour Court to which the proceeding is so
transferred shall dispose of the same."
9. A perusal of the said Section demonstrates that it is
.
the Appropriate Government which by order in writing and for
reasons to be stated therein may withdraw any proceeding pending
before a Labour Court or Tribunal or National Tribunal or transfer
the same to another Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal.
The Labour Court which is constituted under Section 7 of the
Industrial Disputes Act for adjudication of industrial disputes,
inter alia, relating the matters specified in the second Schedule,
which includes matter of discharge or dismissal of workman
including reinstatement of, or grant of relief to, workman
wrongfully dismissed, has not been conferred with any power to
transfer a proceeding pending before it to another Labour Court.
10. In the present case, the impugned orders incidently
have been passed by the National Lok Adalat, which in the
considered view of this Court, had no jurisdiction in law to order
the transfer of the industrial dispute from one Labour Court to
another Labour Court, as the authority of the National Lok Adalat
was only to decide the matter with the consent of the parties.
11. Therefore, this Court has no option, but to quash
orders dated 13.05.20223, passed in all these petitions,
transferring the Claim Petitions of the private respondents from the
Industrial TribunalcumLabour Court, Shimla to the Industrial
TribunalcumLabour Court, Kangra at Dharamshala. Ordered
.
accordingly.
12. However, as it is a matter of record that the private
respondents are not at fault, because they filed the applications for
transfer of their Claim Petitions to the appropriate Government, it
is ordered that a fresh decision shall be taken by the appropriate
Government on the applications which were filed by the private
respondents for transfer of their cases. The private respondents
have been explained this fact by the Court and they have
understood the same. Fresh decision will be taken by the
Appropriate Government strictly inconsonance with the provisions
of Section 33B of the Industrial Disputes Act after giving an
opportunity to the petitioners to oppose the said prayer. The
decision thereupon be taken by the Appropriate Government as
expeditiously as possible and not later than 30.11.2023. It goes
without saying that both the parties shall be given hearing by the
Appropriate Government either in person or in representative
capacity, as they may desire after due notice.
13. The petitions stand disposed of in above terms.
Pending miscellaneous applications, if any, also stand disposed of.
(Ajay Mohan Goel)
Judge
October 09, 2023
(Rishi)
