IMPORTANT POINTS
In case of inconsistency between a Central Act and a State Act on same subject in List-III, concurrent list; State Act would prevail if it has received Assent of the President. However, the Central Act will prevail if the State Act has received assent of the Governor instead of the President.
the KCS Act and the ID Act both possess and enjoy the concurrent jurisdiction to decide any service dispute arising between the Co-operative Society’s Employee and his/her Employer (Co-operative Society).

JUDGMENT :

Abhay Manohar Sapre, J.

1. Leave granted.

2. This appeal is directed against the final judgment and order dated 21.12.2015 passed by the High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam in W.P.(C) No.18354 of 2010 whereby the High Court allowed the writ petition filed by the respondent herein and set aside the award dated 23.09.2009 of the Labour Court, Ernakulam in I.D.No.32 of 2006.

3. In order to appreciate the controversy involved in the appeal, which is essentially legal in nature, mentioning of few undisputed facts would suffice.

Facts in brief

4. The respondent is the Cooperative Society registered under the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, 1969 (hereinafter referred to as “the KCS Act”). The appellant was an employee of the respondent-Society. By order dated 22.03.2005, the respondent-Society dismissed the appellant from service.

5. The appellant, felt aggrieved of her dismissal order, filed a complaint with the State Government against the respondent-Society under the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947 (hereinafter referred to as “the ID Act”). The conciliation having failed, the appropriate Government made an industrial reference to the Labour Court, Ernakulum under Section 10 of the ID Act for deciding the legality and correctness of the appellant's dismissal and to pass appropriate consequential orders, if any.

6. The Labour Court, by award dated 23.09.2009 answered the reference in appellant’s favour. It was held that the dismissal order is bad in law and was accordingly set aside. It was held that during the pendency of the reference, the appellant has attained the age of superannuation on 31.05.2007, therefore, she was entitled to get all monetary and other service benefits as are permissible in law.

7. The respondent, felt aggrieved of the award of the Labour Court, filed Writ Petition (Civil) No.18354 of 2010 in the High Court of Kerala and questioned its legality and correctness.

8. At this stage, it is necessary to state as to how the question involved in the writ petition, which eventually reached to this Court was decided by the different Benches of the Kerala High Court prior to respondent’s filing the writ petition and during its pendency.

9. The question, which frequently came up for consideration before the different Benches of the High Court of Kerala since 1978, was "when a service dispute arises between an Employee of any Co-operative Society and his Employer (Co-operative Society), whether such dispute is triable by the forum prescribed under the ID Act or under the KCS Act or under both the Acts as per the choice of an aggrieved person to select the forum under any of the two Acts for deciding such service dispute".

10. In other words, the question was “whether a service dispute arising between the Cooperative Society’s Employee and his Employer is capable of being tried by the forum prescribed under the KCS Act or by the machinery provided under the ID Act or it is capable of being tried under both the Acts leaving the aggrieved person to select one forum under any of the Acts of his choice out of the two for getting his/her service dispute decided by such forum."

11. The aforesaid question was first decided by two Full Benches of the Kerala High Court in K. Balachandran vs. The Dy. Registrar, Co-operative Societies & Ors., AIR 1978 Ker 126 : 1978 KLT 249 and Sherly M.U. vs. The President, Parappuram Milk Producers Co-op. Society Ltd. & Ors., 2007 (1) KLT 809 wherein it was held on the facts involved in both the cases that the dispute, which had arisen between the Co-operative Society’s Employee and his/her Employer, was not capable of being decided under Section 69 of the KCS Act as it stood then.

12. This question again came up for consideration before a Single Judge of the High Court in Board of Directors, Edava Service Co-operative Bank vs. The Co-operative Arbitration Court & Ors., 2008(3) KLT 780 wherein it was held that a service dispute between a Co-operative Society’s employee and his/her employer is capable