The court emphasized the need for proper inquiry under the Industrial Disputes Act, affirming that wrongful termination without due process warrants reinstatement with continuity of service and back wages.

ORDER :

A.D. MARIA CLETE, J.

Heard both sides.

2. Both writ petitions challenge the same award of the Labour Court, Karaikal made in I.D.No.2/1999 dt. 31.10.2002. Parties are referred to as Management and Workmen from now on. By the impugned award, the Labour Court directed the reinstatement of the workmen as new entrants and denied other reliefs sought by them. While the Management is aggrieved about that portion of the award granting reinstatement to the workmen, the workmen were equally aggrieved about the denial of continuity of service, back wages and other attendant benefits.

3. The writ petition W.P. 37241 of 2003 was admitted on 19.12.2003 and an interim stay was granted in WMP 45186 of 2003. Subsequently, in the order dated 24.6.2004, it was stated that since the workmen were directed to be reinstated as fresh entrants, the question of any direction for payment under Section 17B did not arise. But liberty was given to the workmen to take out appropriate applications for vacating the stay.

4. Subsequently the workmen took out a Miscellaneous Petition in WMP No.1098 of 2004 for vacating the interim order. On 25.1.2008, this court passed the following order: -

“Since there is a stay of the award of the Labour Court, the petitioners in the miscellaneous petition are entitled to get the last drawn wages. Therefore, the petitioner Management is directed to calculate the last drawn wages payable to the petitioner from 12.12.2003 and the arrears of 17(B) wages payable from December, 2003 to January 2008, which shall be paid to the petitioners within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order and the writ petitioner Management is directed to continuously pay the last drawn wages to the petitioners on or before 10^th every succeeding month from February, 2008.”

5. The counsel for the workmen submitted an additional typed set, with Document 11 listing the payments made to the workman, V. Pandian, as per the order. In the following pages, from Page 26 to Page 41, payment receipts for both workmen are included.

6. However, the workman V. Pandian unfortunately passed away on 24.7.2017. His legal heirs being his wife, son and daughter have filed WMP No.1475 of 2019 in W.P. 37241 of 2003 and got themselves impleaded vide order dt. 12.2.2019 .

7. Aggrieved by the same award, the two workmen filed W.P.No. 11184 of 2004 challenging the very same award. The said writ petition was admitted on 23.4.2004 and directed to be clubbed along with the previous writ petition filed by the management challenging the same award. Since after the filing of the W.P. the workman V.Pandian died, his LRs were brought on record vide order in WMP No. 1481 of 2019 dt. 4.2.2019 in the W.P.No. 11184 of 2004.

8. The case of the workmen was that they were working in the Management’s College from 1991 to the end of 1995. The College being an agricultural college owned several farms within the premises of the agriculture research institute at Surakkudi Village in Tirunallur commune. The workmen were terminated on disciplinary grounds. They raised an industrial dispute under Section 2A regarding their non-employment before the Common Labour Officer, Karaikal. On a failure report being sent by the said Conciliation Officer on 23.4.1997, the Government of Pondicherry by their order in G.O.Rt.No. 21/99/Lab Labour Department dt. 29.9.1999 referred the dispute for adjudication by the Labour Court at Karaikal.

9.