Grindlays Bank Ltd vs Central Government Industrial ... on 12 December, 1980
We shall first take up the second question namely whether
the Tribunal was functus offico having earlier made an Award which
was published by the appropriate Government. It is not in dispute
that the Award was made on June 12, 1987 and was published in the
Gazette on August 10, 1987. The application for recall was made on
September 7, 1987. Under sub-section (1) of Section 17A of the Act
an Award becomes enforceable on the expiry of 30 days from the
date of its publication under Section 17 of the Act. Thus the Award
would have become enforceable with effect from September 9,
1987. However, the application for recalling the Award was made
on September 7, 1987 i.e. 2 days before the Award would have
become enforceable in terms of sub-section (1) of Section 17A of
the Act. The High Court rightly took the view that since the
application for recall of the order was made before the Award had
become enforceable, the Tribunal had not become fuctus offico and
had jurisdiction to entertain the application for recall. This view
also find supports from the judgment of this Court in Grindlays
Bank Ltd. vs. Central Government Industrial Tribunal and others
(supra). This Court after noticing the provisions of sub-section (3)
of Section 20 of the Act which provides that the proceedings before
the Tribunal would be deemed to continue till the date on which the
Award become enforceable under Section 17A, held that till the
Award becomes enforceable the Tribunal retains jurisdiction over
the dispute referred to it for adjudication, and up to that date it has
the power to entertain the application in connection with such
dispute. The jurisdiction of the Tribunal had to be seen on the date
of the application made to it and not the date on which it passed the
impugned order.