Judgment

K. JAGANNATHA SHETTY, J.:- This appeal by leave from a decision of the single Judge of Punjab & Haryana High Court raises a very short but important question of law relating to the validity of an arbitral award made before publishing the arbitration agreement under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (The Act).

2. The facts which give rise to this appeal may briefly be stated thus :

The respondent-1 is a registered partnership firm carrying on its trading activities in leather footwears at Karnal and some other places under the name and style of Liberty Footwear Company. It has its head office at Karnal in the State of Haryana. It had a serious dispute with the workers. The workers union complained that the management has illegally terminated more than 200 workers. The respondent-1 denied that claim and asserted that the persons whose services were alleged to have been terminated were not its employees at the material time. This dispute however, remained unsettled and the workers went on strike which took a violent turn. The management had to lay off certain workers and that added fuel to the fire. The agitation of the workers before the factory premises created law and order p