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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI
SANJAY PRASAD
Tata Steel Limited – Appellant
Versus
State of Jharkhand through the Secretary, Department of Labour, Employment, Training and Skill Development, Government of Jharkhand – Respondent
ORDER :
SANJAY PRASAD, J.
1. Heard Mr. Raunak Sahay, learned counsel for the petitioner-company, however, none appears for the State.
2. This writ petition has been filed on behalf of the petitioner-company for the following reliefs:-
(i) For the issuance of an appropriate writ/writs, order/orders, direction/directions or a writ in the nature of Certiorari for quashing the Notification of Reference dated 19.03.2025 (Annexure “9” to the writ application) whereby and whereunder the appropriate Government has referred the dispute with respect to the discharge of the Respondent Workman from service for adjudication before the learned Labour Court, Jamshedpur, although the said dispute is not maintainable and the reference is invalid in view of the fact that the dispute is hopelessly stale having been raised after a delay of over 10 years and thus, the Reference is not legal, valid and is not maintainable.
And/Or
(ii) For issuance of a further appropriate writ/writs, order/orders, direction/directions to hold and declare that the dispute is hopelessly stale and is thus not maintainable and hence the reference is not valid in law
And/Or
(iii) During the pendency of the instant writ application,
Industrial disputes under the Industrial Disputes Act can be raised at any time; delay does not bar adjudication if the dispute remains valid and justiciable.
Principle of jurisprudence that a right not exercised for a long time is non-existent. Even when there is no limitation period prescribed by any statute relating to certain proceedings, in such cases....
Point of Law- Law does not prescribe any time-limit for the appropriate Government to exercise its powers under Section 10 of the Act. It is not that this power can be exercised at any point of time ....
Point of Law - There is no embargo on the writ Court to quash a wholly inappropriate or undesirable or invalid reference order, in case no industrial dispute exists.
It is again on issue of delay where there is no express provision for it. Whereas, in the present case, there is express provision providing limitation to prefer a Reference / claim before the Labour....
A significant delay in raising an industrial dispute can render it stale, even in the absence of a statutory limitation period.
The absence of a prescribed time limit for making a reference to the Labour Court should be considered in conjunction with general principles of delay and laches, and the plea of delay, if raised by ....
The main legal point established in the judgment is that the power of reference under section 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act should be exercised reasonably and in a rational manner and not in a me....
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