The main legal point established in the judgment is that under Section 17A of the Industrial Disputes Act, an award becomes enforceable on the expiry of thirty days from the date of its publication, and the Labour Court does not retain jurisdiction to set aside the award after this period.

This writ petition is filed, challenging the endorsement of the second respondent, the Central Government Labour Court cum Industrial Tribunal dated 29.06.2001, by which the second respondent has refused to entertain the application filed by the petitioner to set aside the exparte award passed in I.D.No.257 of 2001 on 23.02.2001. The reason given by the second respondent for rejecting the application is that the award passed by the Labour Court has been published in the G.O., as per the Notification of the Government dated 12.03.2001. Few facts relevant for the decision in this writ petition are as follows:

The petitioner Union raised a dispute about the termination of employment of one Sarvajeet Goundu on 29.04.1998 when he was employed as a Cook in the first respondent management. The Government of India has referred the same on 110. 1999 for adjudication to the Tamil Nadu Industrial Tribunal and later transferred to the second respondent and was taken on file as I.D.No.257 of 2001. Notice was sent to both the parties to appear before the Tribunal on 09.02.2001. Since both the parties were not present on that date, fresh notice was ordered, posting the case to 23.02.2001. Due to the non-appearance of the petitioner union, the said I.D.No.257 of 2001 was dismissed exparte on 23.02.2001. It is to set aside the said exparte award dismissing the I.D., the petitioner union filed an application on 29.06.2001 and on the same day, the said application was returned as not maintainable on the basis that the exparte award dismissing the I.D. was published in the gazette on 12.03.2001.

2.As per the provisions of Section 17A of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, an award becomes enforceable on expiry of thirty days from the date of publication of the award. It is not the case of the petitioner that there was any Notification by the Government that the award shall not be enforceable after the expiry of thirty days for any reason. In this regard, it is relevant to extract Section 17A, which reads as follows:

"17-A Commencement of the award: (1) An award (including an arbitration award) shall become enforceable on the expiry of thirty days from the date of its publication under Section 17:

Provided that-

(a) if the appropriate Government is of opinion, in any case where the award has been given by a Labour Court or Tribunal in relation to an industrial dispute to which it is a party; or

(b) if the Central Government is of opinion, in any case where the award has been given by a National Tribunal, that it will be inexpedient on public grounds affecting national economy or social justice to give effect to the whole or any part of the award, the appropriate Government, or as the case may be, the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare that the award shall not become enforceable on the expiry of the said period of thirty days.

(2) Where any declaration has been made in relation to an award under the proviso to sub-section (1), the appropriate Government or the Central Government may, within ninety days from the date of publication of the award under Section 17, make an order rejecting or modifying the award, and shall, on the first available opportunity, lay the award together with a copy of the order before the Legislature of the State, if the order has been made by a State Government, or before Parliament, if the order has been made by the Central Government.

(3) Where any award as rejected or modified by an order made under sub-section (2) is laid before the Legislature of a State or before Parliament, such award shall become enforceable on the expiry of fifteen days from the date on which it is so laid; and where no order under sub-section (2) is made in pursuance of a declaration under the proviso to sub-section (1), the award shall become enforceable on the expiry of the period of ninety days referred to in sub-section (2).

(4) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (1) and sub-section (3) reg