IMPORTANT POINT
Labour court/ Industrial Tribunal is competent to set aside ex parte order if sufficient cause is shown within reasonable time. Sufficient cause and reasonable time should be left to judicial discretion of Tribunal.
Award becoming enforceable does not necessarily become binding.

JUDGMENT

KURIAN, J.:

Leave granted.

2. The question arising for consideration in this case is whether the Industrial Tribunal/Labour Court is functus officio after the award has become enforceable, and is thus, prevented from considering an application for setting aside an ex parte award.

3. In view of the conflict between two decisions of this Court -Sangham Tape Co. v. Hans Raj, (2005) 9 SCC 331 and Radhakrishna Mani Tripathi v. L.H Patel and another, (2009) 2 SCC 81 by order dated 21.01.2011 in Haryana Suraj Malting Limited v. Phool Chand, (2012) 8 SCC 579 a reference to a larger bench was made in the following terms:

“1. Whether the Industrial Tribunal/Labour Court becomes functus officio after 30 days of the pronouncement/publication of the award and loses all powers to recall an ex parte award on an application made by the aggrieved party after 30 days from the date of pronouncement/publication of the award is the question that once again arises for consideration in these cases.

2. It may be noted that on this question two Division Bench decisions have taken apparently conflicting views. In Sangham Tape Co. v. Hans Raj a two-Judge Bench held and observed that an application for recall of an ex parte award may be entertained by the Industrial Tribunal/Labour Court only in case it is filed before the expiry of 30 days from the date of pronouncement/publication of the award. A contrary view was taken in Radhakrishna Mani Tripathi v. L.H. Patel to which one of us (Aftab Alam, J.) was a party.

3. In both cases, that is to say, Sangham Tape Co. and Radhakrishna Mani Tripathi, the Court referred to and relied upon the earlier decisions in Grindlays Bank Ltd. v. Central Govt. Industrial Tribunal and Anil Sood v. Labour Court but read and interpreted those two decisions completelydifferently.

4. The conflict which has arisen as a result of the two decisions can only be resolved by a larger Bench. Let these cases be, therefore, listed before a three-Judge Bench.”

4. Heard learned counsel appearing for the parties and Mr. Shekhar Naphade, learned senior counsel assisting the Court as Amicus Curiae.

5. The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) was enacted “…to make provision for the investigation and settlement of industrial disputes, and for certain other purposes”. Chapter IV provides for the “procedure, powers and duties of authorities”. Under Section 11(1) of Chapter IV, it is provided that the Labour Court or Tribunal can follow such procedure as it thinks fit.

“11(1) Subject to any rules that may be made in this behalf, an arbitrator, a Board, Court, Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal shall follow such procedure as the arbitrator or other authority concerned may think fit.”

6. Under Section 17(1), an award shall be published by the appropriate Government within 30 days of its receipt. Under Section 17(2), the award becomes final subject to Section 17A. Under Section 17A, an award becomes enforceable on the expiry of 30 days from the date of its publication under Section 17.

7. Section 20 deals with the commencement and conclusion of proceedings. Under Section 20(3), proceedings before the Court/Tribunal shall be deemed to have been concluded on the date on which the award becomes enforceable under Section 17A.

“20. Commencement and conclusion of proceedings.-(1) A conciliation proceeding shall be deemed to have commenced on the date on which a notice of strike or lock-out under section 22 is received by the conciliation officer or on the date of the order referring the dispute to a Board, as the case may be.

(2) A conciliation proceeding shall be deemed to have concluded-

(a) where a settlement is arrived at, when a memorandum of the settlement is signed by the parties to the dispute;

(b) where no settlement is arrived at, when the report of the conciliation officer is received by the appropriate Government or when the report of the Board is published under section 17, as the case may be; o