Judgement

RANGANATH MISRA, J.:- Each of these appeals is by special leave and is directed against the Award made in different disputes by the Labour Court. The common justification for ignoring the High Court and approaching this Court directly by way of special leave, according to Mr. Jitendra Sharma for each of the appellants, is that there are a couple of Full Bench decisions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court holding that the Irrigation Department of the State Government of Punjab is not an industry and no useful purpose would have been served by routing the matters through the High Court as the Full Bench decision would have been followed.

2. The appellant in Civil Appeal No. 5415 of 1985 was a foreman in the Mechanical Construction Division under the Irrigation Department and had applied under Section 33C-2 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, (hereinafter referred to as the Act) before the Labour Court for recovery of arrears of annual increments.

3. The appellant in Civil Appeal No. 2168 of 1987 was a T. Mate in the P.W.D. Drainage Division. When his services were terminated without complying with the requirements of the law, he challenged the termination before the Labour