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ROHIT RANJAN AGARWAL
Power Grid Corp. Of India Ltd. – Appellant
Versus
Presiding Officer Labour Court1 U. P. Kanpur – Respondent
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. details of the writ petition and the industrial dispute. (Para 2 , 6) |
| 2. claim regarding insufficient notice to the petitioner. (Para 7) |
| 3. court's observation on notice sufficiency. (Para 8 , 9) |
| 4. unsustainable ex parte award based on notice issues. (Para 10) |
| 5. writ petition allowed, matter remitted for reassessment. (Para 11 , 12) |
JUDGMENT
Rohit Ranjan Agarwal, J.
Heard Sri Piyush Bhargava, learned counsel for the petitioner.
2. This writ petition has been filed assailing the ex parte order award dated 15.12.1999 published on 08.02.2000 in Adjudication Case No.260 of 1999.
3. In the said writ petition earlier one S.N.Dubey, Advocate, was appearing as counsel for respondent No.2. Due to unfortunate death of Sri Dubey, notices were issued on 26.09.2022 to respondent No.2 to engage another counsel. Office report dated 20.10.2022 indicates that undelivered cover was received back with the following postal remark :
4. From perusal of the office report dated 20.10.2022, notice upon respondent No.2 is deemed sufficient.
5. This Court on 22.11.2022 had summoned the records of the Labour Court.
The court reaffirmed that due process and the principle of natural justice must be upheld, particularly ensuring proper notice is served before ex parte decisions are made.
The Labour Court retains jurisdiction to entertain applications to set aside ex-parte awards beyond thirty days when principles of natural justice are not adhered to.
The Labour Court's ex-parte award was set aside due to improper notice service and lack of evidence proving employment.
Point of law : Supreme Court categorically observed that test that has to be applied is whether defendant honestly and sincerely intended to remain present when the suit was called on for hearing and....
An ex parte award lacking adherence to natural justice is a nullity and cannot be enforced; the Labour Court must consider recall applications if sufficient cause for non-appearance is shown.
The central legal point established is the requirement for an award to be passed in compliance with the principles of natural justice, and the possibility of challenging an award as a nullity if suff....
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