The court affirmed that the Dharmarth Trust operates as an industry under the Industrial Disputes Act, acknowledging employee rights and obligations.

ORDER

1. The petitioner, through the medium of this petition, under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, seeks quashment of order dated 09.09.2003 of the Industrial Tribunal, Jammu, whereby an award was passed in favour of the respondent No.2 namely Chand Ram, on a reference made to it by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, vide SRO 13 dated 21.01.2003.

2. By virtue of the impugned order, the Tribunal held the termination of the services of the respondent no.2-Chand Ram illegal and quashed the termination order. The Tribunal also held the respondent no.2 to be in continuous service of the petitioner-Trust and entitled to receive back-wages to the extent of 50% from the date of his termination till the passing of the award, in favour of the respondent no.2.

3. Aggrieved of the impugned order, the petitioner has assailed the said award before this court on various grounds, inter alia, that the respondent no.2 was not a workman as defined under Section 2 of the Industrial Disputes Act as the provisions of the Act are not applicable to the petitioner Trust because it does not fall within the definition of ‘Industry’ as contained in (j) of the Act.

4. Impugned award has been challenged on the grounds that the award of the Industrial Tribunal/Labour Court has been passed without jurisdiction and is based on misconception of law on the counts, firstly, that Dharmarath Trust is not an industry within the meaning of Section 2 (j) of the Industrial Tribunal Act, 1947; secondly, 5-F of the Act has no application at all and thirdly, non-compliance of the principles of fundamental judicial procedure-misconception as to the provisions under Section 36 of the Act.

5. This court vide order dated 23.01.2006, while issuing notice to the respondents, stayed the impugned order.

6. Pursuant to notice, the respondent no.2 filed objections asserting therein that vide impugned order, the Industrial Tribunal-cum-Labour Court had answered the reference made by the Govt. of Jammu & Kashmir in terms of SRO 13 dated 20.01.2003. The award has been passed in ex parte as the respondent-petitioner herein had not contested the same; that it is settled that once a reference is made by the Govt then the same is required to be answered by the Industrial Tribunal/Labour Court and had the petitioner any grievance against the reference of the matter to the Industrial Tribunal, it was at liberty to challenge the reference order made in terms of SRO 13 in the year 2003 itself and this omission on their part impliedly admitted the legal position which is now disputed; that the writ petition is hit by doctrine of delay and laches as the impugned award passed in the year 2003 was challenged in the year 2005 after a delay of more than two years; that the petitioner-Trust is not a religious and charitable institution but it carried on multifarious activities and is also involved in the business and trade and comes within the definition of ‘industry’ as defined in the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 ;

that the trust-Petitioner owns business markets like Karan Market which has been carved out by cutting a part of Raghunath Temple and also has hotels like Ranbir Yatri Hotel at Indira Chowk which has been given to the private persons on contractual basis and was used as a business establishment of Dharmarth Trust. Similarly, the Trust owns so many shops, business establishment which have been given on rent basis and that the petitioner Trust earns profit out of it, thus leaving the Trust not only as religious and spiritual institution.

7. It has been further asserted