General Manager, Northern Railway vs Central Government Labour Court And ... on 22 January, 1979
In Madura Mills Co. Ltd. v. Guruvammal (1966) 31 F.J.R. 73, a learned single Judge of the Madras High Court held that where a statutory right is created in favour of a person and the statute also creates a special machinery for enforcing the specially created right, the right so created cannot be enforced by the ordinary civil Court. Section 33C(2) of the Act provides for a special machinery for recovery of retrenchment compensation which may fall due under Chapter V-A of the Act. Therefore, a suit for the recovery of retrenchment compensation cannot be filed in a civil Court. Assuming that the view expressed in this authority hold's the field, its implication may be that whatever matters are to be adjudicated upon under Section 33C(2) the jurisdiction of the civil Court to that extent is barred. Assuming further that the heirs of a workman are entitled to move the Labour Court under Section 33C(2), it would be competent to decide the issues of inheritance between the heirs inter se. The decision of the Labour Court in a dispute between the heirs inter se shall be final. It could not be the intention of the Legislature to leave the complicated issues of inheritance between the heirs inter se to the Labour Court nor has it been exhibited in Section 33C.