ORDER :

The High Court has by the impugned order not only set-aside order dated 07.12.2007 passed by the Labour Court dismissing the reference as withdrawn/infrcutuous but also directed the Labour Court to restore the reference to its original number and commence the proceedings on the same from the stage at which the same were dismissed. The High Court has further held that the appellant would be entitled to supplement their references with subsequent events referred to in the impugned order. At the same time, the respondents have been allowed to take all factual and legal pleas available to them before the Labour Court who shall then decide all those questions in accordance with law. The High Court has further directed the Labour Court/Industrial Tribunal, Patiala to expedite the disposal of the reference. For facility of reference we may extract the operative portion of the order passed by the Labour Court:

Consequently, this appeal is allowed in part to the extent that the orders like dated 07.12.2007 whereby the reference under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 of the appellants were dismissed as withdrawn being infructuous, are set-aside. The resultant effect would be that the Labour Court shall restore the reference(s) to their original number and file and shall commence the proceedings from the stage of their dismissal “as withdrawn. While the appellants would be entitled to supplement their references with the subsequent events noticed above, the respondents shall also be entitled to take all the factual and legal pleas before the Labour Court who shall then decide those questions in accordance with law. We also direct the Labour Court-cum-Industrial Tribunal, Patiala to expedite the disposal of reference(s) as early as possible but not later than one year from the date a certified copy of this order is received. The order of the learned Single Judge stands modified accordingly.

2. By our Order dated 30.09.2013, we had while issuing notice in the special leave petition directed the parties to maintain status quo regarding service of the petitioners pending further orders. This order by no means prevented the Labour Court from taking the proceedings further and concluding the same in accordance with the directions issued by the High Court. Unfortunately however for some reason or the other, the proceedings have not made any progress whatsoever. We see no reason why the proceedings should not be recommenced in terms of the order passed by the High Court and concluded as expeditiously as possible but in any case within a period of six months form the date a copy of this order is filed before the Labour Court by learned counsel for the parties.

3. We accordingly direct the Labour Court to take up the proceedings strictly in accordance with the observations made by the High Court in para 13 extracted above and to conclude the same expeditiously. A copy of the award which the Labour Court may make shall be filed before this Court on the next date of hearing. These proceedings shall in the meantime stand over, to be listed again in the month of May, 2016. We make it clear that the order passed by us on 30.09.2013 shall be understood to only mean that the services of the petitioner shall not be terminated by the respondent without the permission of this Court.