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Serial No.2

HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH

AT JAMMU

OWP No. 796/2005

IA No. 1085/2005

IA No. 712/2008

CM No. 5045/2023 Reserved on: 04.12.2025

Pronounced on: 19.12 .2025

Uploaded on: 19.12.2025

Whether the operative part or

-

full judgment is pronounced Full Judgment

Dharmarth Trust J&K …..Appellant(s)/Petitioner(s)

Through: Mr. Ashwani Thakur, Advocate.

Vs

.…. Respondent(s)

Industrial Tribunal & Anr.

Through: Ex parte.

CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE M A CHOWDHARY, JUDGE

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

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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 Section 2(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, Section 25-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;

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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 s