important point
The Law department can, by no stretch of imagination, be considered as an industry. Disposal of cases by blindly placing reliance on a decision is not proper.

JUDGMENT

Dr. ARIJIT PASAYAT, J.—

1.Challenge in this appeal is to the order passed by a Division Bench of the Rajasthan High Court, Jodhpur, upholding the view taken by the learned Single Judge. Before the High Court challenge was to the award of the Labour Court, Bikaner.

2.Background facts are almost undisputed and are as follows :

Respondent was working as a peon attached to the Public Prosecutor. He was getting an amount of Rs.1,000/- p.m. as a temporary employee on a contract basis. He was engaged under the Joint Legal Remembrance and Director, Litigation, Law Department, Jaipur. His services were terminated by notice dated 5.12.1998 w.e.f. 7.12.1998, and according to him, it was in violation of the provisions of Section 25-G of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (in short the ‘Act’). Therefore, a dispute was raised. A reference was made to the Labour Court, vide Notification No. F 1(1)(1145) L.F./2000 dated 31st July, 2000, under Section 10 of the Act. The reference was of the following dispute :

“Whether the termination from service on 7.12.1998 of the applicant Shri Ganeshilal son of Shri Noratmal Barber by the non-applicant (1) Additional Public Prosecutor, Rajgarh District Churu (2) Joint Law Adviser and Director Litigation, Law Department, Rajasthan Churu is proper and valid? If not then to what relief the applicant is entitled for?”

3.The claim was resisted by the present appellant on the ground that the Law department is not an industry.

4.On a reference to the Labour Court the Presiding Officer, Labour Court, held that Law department was an industry in view of what has been stated by this Court in relation to various departments, hotel, school, public works department, irrigation department. This view has been accepted by learned Single Judge who held that there was no scope for interference under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, 1950 (in short ‘the Constitution’).

5.The Division Bench after referring to Section 2(s) of the Act held that the view of the Labour Court was correct.

6.Learned counsel for the appellant submitted that by no stretch of imagination the Law department can be considered to be an industry. Learned counsel for the respondent on the other hand submitted that the Labour Court and the High Court were justified in their views.

7.Section 2(s) of the Act defines “workman” as follows :

“any person (including an apprentice) employed in any industry to do any manual, unskilled, skilled, technical, operational, Clerical or supervisory work for hire of reward, whether the terms of employment be express or implied, and for the purposes of any proceeding under this Act in relation to an Industrial Dispute, includes any such person who has been dismissed, discharged or retrenched in connection with, or as a consequence of, that dispute, or whose dismissal, discharge or retrenchment has led to that dispute.”

8.For bringing in application of Section 2(s) of the Act, the workman must be employed in an industry. The Law department can, by no stretch of imagination, be considered as an industry.

9.Learned counsel for the appellant submitted that whether any government department can be treated as industry is under consideration of a larger Bench of this Court.

10.The Labour Court and the High Court have not even indicated as to how the Law department is an industry. Merely stating that in some cases Irrigation department, Public Works Department have been held to be covered by the expression “industry” in some decisions.

11.Reliance on the decision without looking into the factual background of the case before it is clearly impermissible. A decision is a precedent on its own facts. Each case presents its own features. It is not everything said by a Judge while giving a judgment that constitutes a precedent. The only thing in a Judge’s decision binding a party is the principle upon which the case is decided and for this reason it is important to analyse a decision and isolate from it the ratio decidendi. Ac