Only Central Govt Industrial Tribunal can adjudicate: High Court

Srinagar, Jan 9: The J&K and Ladakh High Court has held that only the Industrial Tribunal-Labour Court (IT-cum-LC) set up by the Central Government shall have the power to decide an industrial dispute between the Jammu & Kashmir Bank and its workman.

However, the Court pointed out that the Central Government may refer the dispute to the Industrial Tribunal-Labour Court established by the State Government. “In that eventuality only, the Industrial Tribunal-Labour Court established by the State Government shall have jurisdiction to adjudicate the same”.

In March 2019, while dealing with a related- case, Industrial Tribunal Cum Labour Court J&K at Srinagar had rejected the preliminary objection raised by the J&K Bank with regard to the jurisdiction of the Tribunal in the case.

The Tribunal had held that the State Government was the ‘appropriate Government’ for the bank and the Industrial Tribunal cum Labour Court established by the State Government shall have the jurisdiction to adjudicate a dispute between the bank and its workman.

Aggrieved by the order, J&K Bank had assailed the same in a petition before the High Court.

The bank contended that the ‘appropriate Government’ in respect of “Banking” is a Central Government in terms of Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, therefore, the Tribunal being the State Industrial Tribunal-Labour Court had no jurisdiction to try the matter

The person who was applicant before the Tribunal objected to the petition by asserting that the J&K Bank is an authority and instrumentality of the State and was created by Maharaja of Jammu & Kashmir. “Further, the UT Government has a major shareholding of nearly 59.3% in the J&K Bank ltd. and thus it has both financial and administrative control over the Bank,” he said.

After hearing the parties, a bench of Justice Rajnesh Oswal framed two issues to decide.

While deciding the issue whether in case of industrial dispute between J&K Bank Ltd and its workman, the Central Government or the State Government that is Government of UT of J&K is the ‘appropriate Government’ in terms of Section 2(a) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the bench said: “This court is of the considered view that in case of industrial dispute between the Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd. and its workman, the appropriate Government would be ‘the Central Government”.

Whether the Industrial Tribunal-Labour Court set up by the State Government of J&K, now Government of UT of J&K, has the jurisdiction to adjudicate the industrial dispute between the J&K Bank Ltd and its workman, the court said: “As this court has arrived at the conclusion that the central government is appropriate government in case of an industrial dispute between the petitioner (J&K bank) and its workman, therefore as a natural consequence, the Industrial Tribunal-Labour Court, established by the central government ordinarily shall have the jurisdiction to adjudicate the industrial dispute between the petitioner bank and its workman.”

Moreover, the Court underscored that proviso to section 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 reveals that the dispute, where the Centre is the appropriate Government, it shall be within the competence of it to refer the dispute to a labour court or Industrial Tribunal as the case may be, constituted by the State Government.