Important Points
1. A workman’s right to be represented by an Advocate in disciplinary proceedings depends upon the service rules or standing order of the organisation; the workman cannot claim to be represented by an Advo­cate.
2. Where punishment was imposed not by the appointing authority but by an authority superior in rank to the appointing authority, the order could not be said to be bad.

Judgment

S. Saghir Ahmad, J.-Leave granted.

2. The appellant is a pharmaceutical company engaged in manufacturing and marketing of various pharmaceutical pro­ducts.

3. The respondent was appointed as a Medical Representative of the appellant with his headquarter at Ludhiana. Under the jobs assigned to the respondent, he was to visit the doctors, hospitals and chemists to promote the sale of medicines manufactured and marketed by the appellant. One of the duties of the respondent was to submit a daily report of the visits made by him specifying the persons visits made by him specifying the persons visited and the samples or promotional materials distributed by him. In the daily report of 31st of August, 1989, the respondent indicated that he had visited one Dr. K.R. Singla at Ropar. He also indicated in his daily report that he had visited M/s. Singla Medicos, Ropar to whom he distributed various samples of the appellant’s products. It was later discovered by the appellant that Dr. Singla had already died on 7th of August, 1989, having been killed by the terrorists and that M/s Singla Medicos at Ropar had been closed from 08.08.1989 onwards.

4. Rule 14 of the Service Rules applicable to the Medical Representa­tives employed in the appellant’s Company provides as under:-

“14. Misconduct

(d) Fraud or dishonesty in connection with the Company’s busi­ness or property.

(1) Submission of false daily reports or irregularity in submis­sion of daily reports.”

5. Since the respondent had submitted a report that he had visited Dr. Singla on 31.8.1989 which was obviously false as Dr. Singla had al­ready been killed by the terrorist on 7th of August, 1989, a charge-sheet for the misconduct, specified in Rule 14, was issued to him on 23.12.1989 on the basis of which a departmental enquiry was held against the respondent which was completed on 18.5.1990 and the find­ings recorded by the Enquiry Officer were that the charges levelled against him were fully proved. On the basis of the above findings, the services of the respondent were terminated by order dated 18.8.1990. This order was challenged by the respondent in the departmental appeal on 26.6.1990 but the appeal was dismissed. The respondent thereafter raised an industrial dispute which was referred to the Labour Court, Ludhiana on 10.4.1991.

6. While the matter was pending before the Labour Court, the appellant moved an application on 10.3.1995 that since the respondent was only a Medical Representative, he was not covered by the definition of “workman” as laid down in the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and consequently the proceedings before the Labour Court were wholly without jurisdiction. The preliminary objection raised by the appel­lant was accepted by the Labour Court which, by its Award dated 02.05.1995, held that the respondent was not a “workman” and consequently dismissed the reference. The respondent challenged this Award before the Punjab and Haryana High Court and by its judgment dated 12.08.1996, the High Court set aside the Award and remanded the case back to the Labour Court for deciding the matter afresh.

7. On 22.12.1997, the Labour Court decided another preliminary issue which was to the effect “whether a fair and proper enquiry was held” and it was held that fair and proper enquiry was not held and the termination order passed by the appellant was wholly illegal and void as it was found by the Labour Court that the respondent, in spite of his request, was not allowed the assistance of an advocate. It was further found that the termination order was passed by an authority who was not the appointing authority of the respondent and, therefore, it was bad. The appellant, thereafter,filed Writ Petition No. 1010 of 1998 in the Punjab and Harayana High Court but the High Court by its judgment dated 23.05.1998 dismissed the Writ Petition. It is in these circumstances that the present appeal has been filed in this Court.

8. We have heard the learned c