IMPORTANT POINT
The concurrent jurisdiction of the Industrial Disputes Act and the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act allows an employee to choose the forum for dispute resolution without exhausting remedies under the KCS Rules.

JUDGMENT :

MURALI PURUSHOTHAMAN, J.

1. The petitioner, a Co-operative Society, has filed this writ petition challenging the proceedings initiated by the respondent employee before the Labour Court under Section 2A(2) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, contending that, in view of the remedy available under Rule 198(4) of the Kerala Co-operative Societies Rules, 1969 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the KCS Rules’) the industrial dispute before the Labour Court is not maintainable.

2. The respondent while working as Attender in the petitioner Society was suspended from service in contemplation of disciplinary proceedings. The enquiry initiated pursuant to Ext.P2 memo of charges culminated in Ext.P4 order dismissing the respondent from service. Though Rule 198(4) of the KCS Rules provides for an appeal against an order imposing penalty, she preferred an arbitration case before the Co-operative Arbitration Court under Section 69 of the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, 1969 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the KCS Act’). Later, she withdrew the same and raised an industrial dispute. Since the Conciliation Officer failed to settle the dispute within 45 days, she filed an application before the Labour Court, Kollam under Section 2A(2) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The dispute was numbered as ID No. 27/2022.

3. The petitioner Society filed Interlocutory Application No. 110/2022 in ID No. 27/2022 raising a preliminary objection to the maintainability of the Industrial Dispute contending that industrial dispute without preferring a statutory appeal under Rule 198 (4) of the KCS Rules is not maintainable.

4. The Labour Court, by Ext.P5 order, held that filing an appeal under Rule 198(4) of the Rules is not a condition precedent for raising an industrial dispute and there is no provision either in the Industrial Disputes Act or the Kerala Co-operative Societies Rules that prevents an aggrieved person from filing an industrial dispute without filing an appeal under Rule 198(4).

5. Ext.P5 order is impugned in the writ petition contending that Rule 198 (4) of the KCS Rules, which provides that an appeal shall lie against every order imposing a penalty to the competent appellate authority, is mandatory, and being a workman under the Industrial Disputes Act, the respondent cannot bypass the statutory remedy. It is contended that, when the statute requires a particular thing to be done in a particular manner, it has to be done in the same manner. Accordingly, direction is sought to quash Ext.P5 and to declare that the industrial dispute is not maintainable before resorting to the remedy provided in Rule 198 (4) of the KCS Rules, as it is mandatory one.

6. A counter affidavit has been filed by the respondent wherein it is contended that service disputes of an employee of a Co-operative Society can be tried by the forum prescribed under the KCS Act or by machinery provided under the Industrial Disputes Act as both the Acts possess and enjoy concurrent jurisdiction to decide the dispute and it is for the aggrieved person to choose the forum. It is further stated that a writ petition challenging a preliminary order of the Labour Court shall not be entertained. It is contended that writ petition has been filed only to prolong the proceedings before the Labour Court.

7. Heard Sri. P.N. Mohanan, the learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri. Gopakumar R. Thaliyal, the learned counsel for the respondent.

8. Can an application under Section 2A(2) of the ID Act be made to the Labour Court or Industrial Tribunal against an order of dismissal of an employee of a Co-operative Society without first exhausting the remedy of appeal under Rule 198(4) of the KCS Rules? This is the short question which is posed for consideration in this writ petition.

9. The question, 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 Industrial Disput