IMPORTANT POINT
Termination by way of punishment is not retrenchment.

JUDGMENT

Abhay Manohar Sapre, J.

1. This appeal is directed against the final judgment and order dated 22.09.2006 passed by the High Court of Punjab & Haryana at Chandigarh in C.W.P. No.13094 of 2006 whereby the Division Bench of the High Court dismissed the petition filed by the appellant herein and affirmed the Award dated 23.01.2006 passed by the Presiding Officer, Labour Court, Ambala in Ref.No.25 of 2003.

2. The controversy involved in the case is short as it would be clear from the narration of the relevant facts infra.

3. The appellant is the Kurukshetra University (hereinafter referred to as “the University”). The respondent was working as Security Guard in the University as daily rated employee.

4. On 18.08.1999, the respondent while on duty alleged to have misbehaved with one lady Research Scholar, who was working in the University. The appellant took note of the incident and held departmental enquiry by appointing Enquiry Officer to probe into the incident.

5. The Enquiry Officer, in his report dated 20.09.1999, found the respondent guilty for committing the misconduct. The appellant accordingly decided to discontinue the services of the respondent and treating him to be the daily rated worker dispensed with his services with effect from 30.03.2000.

6. This led the State to make the industrial reference to the Labour Court, Ambala under Section 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (hereinafter referred to as “ID Act”) for deciding the legality and correctness of the respondent's termination from the services of the appellant-University w.e.f. 30.03.2000.

7. Before the Labour Court, the stand of the appellant(University) in the written statement was two-fold. First, the respondent was working as a daily wager for a period of 89 days and, therefore, he was not entitled to claim any benefit available to any workman under the ID Act and Second, the respondent committed misconduct while on duty for which a departmental enquiry was held though it was not required because the respondent was a daily rated employee and on being found guilty in the domestic inquiry, his services were dispensed with.

8. The Labour Court, by award dated 23.01.2006, answered the reference in respondent's favour. The Labour Court held that the respondent has worked for more than 240 days in one calendar year. It was further held that since the appellant had leveled charge of misconduct against the respondent, it was necessary for the appellant to have held regular departmental enquiry by issuing a charge sheet etc. and then depending upon the outcome of the enquiry, appropriate orders should have been passed. It was held that the enquiry held by the appellant was not legal and proper. With these findings, the Labour Court held this to be a case of illegal retrenchment and set aside the respondent’s termination order as being illegal. The Labour Court granted liberty to the appellant to hold regular departmental enquiry for the charges leveled by them against the respondent, in case the appellant so desires.

9. The appellant (University), felt aggrieved of the award of the Labour Court, filed writ petition before the High Court. By impugned judgment, the Division Bench of the High Court dismissed the appellant's writ petition and upheld the Award passed by the Labour Court.

10. Against this judgment of the High Court, the appellant(University) felt aggrieved and has filed this appeal by way of special leave before this Court.

11. Notice of the SLP was sent to the respondent. Despite service and repeated notices sent to the respondent, he neither appeared nor represented through any counsel. We have, therefore, no option but to decide the appeal by hearing the counsel for the appellant.

12. Having heard the learned counsel for the appellant and on perusal of the record of the case, we are constrained to allow the appeal and while setting aside the judgment of the High Court and the award of the Labour Court remand the case to the Labour Court for