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Applicability of Industrial Disputes Act to Cooperative Society. The Supreme Court remanded back appeal filed by the Society to High Court.

January 15, 2018

 

 

Industrial Disputes act applicable to cooperative society or not

A Bench of Supreme Court Judges Justice R.K. Agrawal and Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre remanded back a Special Leave Appeal filed by the aggrieved employee of a Cooperative Society in Smt. K.A. Annama v. The Secretary, Cochin Cooperative Hospitality Society Ltd, Civil Appeal No. 197 of 2018 to the High Court of Kerala.

 

The facts of the case are the respondent is the Cooperative Society registered under the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, 1969. The appellant was an employee of the respondent-Society. By order dated 22.03.2005, the respondent-Society dismissed the appellant from service.


The appellant, felt aggrieved of her dismissal order, filed a complaint with the State Government against the respondent-Society under the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947. The conciliation having failed, the appropriate Government made an industrial reference to the Labour Court, Ernakulum under Section 10 of the Act for deciding the legality and correctness of the appellant's dismissal and to pass appropriate consequential orders, if any.


The Labour Court, by award dated 23.09.2009 answered the reference in appellant's favour. It was held that the dismissal order is bad in law and was accordingly set aside. It was held that during the pendency of the reference, the appellant has attained the age of superannuation on 31.05.2007, therefore, she was entitled to get all monetary and other service benefits as are permissible in law.


The respondent, felt aggrieved of the award of the Labour Court, filed Writ Petition (Civil) No.18354 of 2010 in the High Court of Kerala and questioned its legality and correctness. The question was "whether a service dispute arising between the Cooperative Society's Employee and his Employer is capable of being tried by the forum prescribed under the KCS Act or by the machinery provided under the Industrial Disputes Act or it is capable of being tried under both the Acts leaving the aggrieved person to select one forum under any of the Acts of his choice out of the two for getting his/her service dispute decided by such forum."


This question was considered by different benches in different occasions. So far as the majority view of three Judges is concerned, it held that the service dispute arising between the Co-operative Society's Employee and the Employer (Co-operative Society) is triable only by the forum prescribed under the KCS Act, 1969 and the jurisdiction of the ID Act is excluded and barred to try such service dispute.


So far as the minority view of two Judges is concerned, it held that such service dispute is triable under both the Acts, i.e., the KCS Act and the Industrial Disputes Act. In other words, it held that both the Acts possess and enjoy concurrent jurisdiction to decide such service dispute and it is for the aggrieved person to choose the forum of his/her choice out of the two Acts to get the service dispute settled subject to proving the ingredients of the definition of "Workman", "Industrial Dispute" and the cooperative Society to be the "Industry" as defined under the ID Act, if he/she desires to invoke the jurisdiction of the ID Act for deciding the service dispute Relying upon the majority view, the writ petition filed by the respondent(employer) in the case at hand was allowed by the learned Single Judge, resulting in setting aside of the award of the Labour Court, giving rise to filing of this appeal by way of special leave before Supreme Court by the employee.

 

 

The main question raised in the appeal is weather the Industrial Disputes Act or Kerala Cooperative Societies Act is competent to decide the case. The court said that:


"in our view, the Labour Court in this case was competent to decide the service dispute raised by the Employee (appellant herein) under the ID Act. The case is accordingly remanded to the writ Court to decide the respondent's writ petition for examining the legality and correctness of the award of the Labour Court on merits in accordance with law."


Supreme Court allowed the appeal and set aside the judgment of High Court.
  

 

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Read the order of Supreme Court of India in Smt. K.A. Annama v. The Secretary, Cochin Cooperative Hospitality Society Ltd dated 12.1.2018

 

 

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