ORDER

1. The appellant was an employee of a cooperative bank. He was removed from service after a disciplinary inquiry in which charges of grave misconduct were found proved. The appellant assailed his removal by seeking a reference under Section 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 to the Labour Court. In that reference, the Labour Court granted him relief of reinstatement with back wages. The respondent bank challenged the award as a nullity in a writ petition filed in the High Court. The High Court has quashed the award on the ground that it is a nullity being made in an incompetent reference. Hence this appeal by special leave.

2. The learned counsel for the appellant strenuously urged that by virtue of Section 93 of the Madhya Pradesh Cooperative Societies Act, the reference made to the Labour Court under Section 10(1)(d) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 was competent and, therefore, the award was valid. The learned counsel also placed strong reliance on the decision of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Rashtriya Khadan Mazdoor Sahakari Samiti Ltd. v. Presiding Officer, Central Govt. Industrial Tribunal-cum-Labour Court (1975 MPLJ 583 : 1975 Lab IC 1409). We are unable t