JUDGMENT :

1. The petitioner M/s Modi Industries Ltd., Modi Nagar, District Ghaziabad, U.P. have preferred this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution challenging an award of the Presiding Officer, Labour Court, U.P., Agra dated 07.09.2012 (published on 11.03.2013) made in Adjudication Case No. 200 of 1991. By the said award (for short the 'impugned award') the Labour Court has held the termination of services of the second respondent-workman (for short the 'workman') by the petitioner-Employers (for short the 'Employers') with effect from 16.12.1989 to be illegal and improper, setting aside the Employers' order dated 16.12.1989 with a consequential direction that the workman, a Godown Keeper shall be reinstated in service with continuity, payment of balance of his salary during the period of his suspension from service and the entire back wages. The Employers were further ordered to pay the entire back wages within a period of one month from the date of enforcement of the award. The workman has also been awarded costs in the sum of Rs. 2500/-.

2. Apart from the respective case of parties, the facts leading to this writ petition are that the workman was employed by the Employers at their Agra Depot with effect from 5th November, 1981. He was appointed on the post of a peon. Lateron, on November the 15th, 1985, the workman was promoted to the post of a Godown Keeper. As a Godown Keeper, he was responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the Company's Godown at Agra. These Godowns were utilized to store poly packs of Vanaspati Ghee. The Employers did a surprise check of their Godown on 17th February, 1988 that was carried out by one Pradeep Kumar Agarwal, a Branch Executive with the Employers. He is said to have noticed that some of the poly packs carrying Vanaspati Ghee were deliberately slashed by a sharp object and were damaged. The aforesaid officer of the Employers is further said to have noticed that vegetable Ghee had been removed from the damaged poly packs and these damaged poly packs were dumped along with other damaged poly packs, in order to show that the Godown stock was as per inventory. An inspecting official of the Employers appears to have submitted a report, recommending initiation of legal action against the workman. The Employers on the basis of the aforesaid report on 11th March, 1988 served the workman with a charge-sheet dated 20th April, 1988. The workman was charged with deliberately damaging poly packs of vegetable Ghee by slashing these with a sharp edged object and removal of the packaged contents for personal use or benefit.

3. It also appears that a little later on the 3rd of May, 1988, post issue of the charge-sheet, the workman was placed under suspension pending conclusion of disciplinary proceedings by a formal order to that effect issued by the Employers. The workman submitted his reply to the charge sheet on 16th May, 1988. The Employers appointed an Inquiry officer to go into the validity of the charges against the workman. One A.C. Mittal was appointed as the Inquiry Officer. The Inquiry Officer submitted his report on 31st August, 1989 to the Employers. Relying upon the findings carried in the inquiry report dated 31st August, 1989, last mentioned, the workman was dismissed from service vide order dated 16th December, 1989.

4. It was in the context of this action taken by the Employers that the workman raised an industrial dispute under Section 4-K of the U.P. Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (for short the 'Act') on the basis of which the competent authority made a reference dated 27th September, 1991 to the Labour Court in the following terms (translated into English from Hindi vernacular):-

“Whether the act of the Employers in terminating the services of their workman Sri Vishan Chandra Agarwal s/o Sri Manohar Lal Agarwal, Godown Keeper with effect from 16.12.1989 is proper and lawful, if not to what relief/benefits the concerned workman is entitled to, and in what terms?”

5. The Labour