1968 SCMR 294 (PLP)

HAMOODUR RAHMAN, J.-These six petitions have been filed by the Province of West Pakistan for leave to appeal from a judgment and order of a Division Bench of the High Court of West Pakistan. whereby 5 appeals filed by the Railway Administration under subsection (5) of section 12 of the Industrial Disputes Ordinance, 1959, were dismissed as being incompetent and a writ petition filed by some 94 Special Ticket Examiners of the Pakistan Western Railway was allowed and it was declared that an award given by the Industrial Court on the 10th of January 1962, holding that the Special Ticket Examiners also belonged to the category of "running staff", was still binding on the parties and that it could be varied to the disadvantage of the said Special Ticker-Examiners only if the Railway Administration was in a position to show to the Industrial Court that a change of circumstances warranting a review of the whole situation had taken place. This award, as already stated, was made on the 13th of June 1962, but it was published in the Gazette on the Ilth of August 1962, Thereafter, the Railway Administeration purporting to act under subsection (5) of section 14 of the Ordinance issued a notice on the 10th of June 1963, notifying that the operation of the award would cease after the expiry of its term of one year on the 10th of August 1963, in so far as it related to the Special Ticket Examiners. The latter then moved the Industrial Court on the 13th of July 1963, for the extension of the period of the award. The Court held that according to law the notice contemplated by sub section (5) of section 14 could only be given after the expiry of the period of the validity of the award and, as such, the notice given by the Railway Administration before the expiry of the said period was premature and that the award would continue to be binding until the Railway Administration chose to give a proper notice under section 14(5). The .Railway did not serve any such fresh notice, and the Court onthe 23rd of November 1963, extended the period of the award up to the 10th of August 1964. This order of extension was published on the 8th of June 1964. Subsequently another application for further extension was filed and the Industrial Court on the 11th of January 1965, extended the period of the award up to the 10th of August 1965, and this was published in the Gazette on the 9th of March 1965. The Railway Administration then filed the' appeals to challenge, not the original award, but the various extensions of that award and the order of the 7th August 1963, by which the Industrial Court had held that the Special Ticket Examiners also came within the category of running staff. The Special Ticket Examiners then filed the writ petition for a declaration that the award made by the Industrial Court on the 11th of August 1962, had resulted in investing them with the status of members of running staff and that it was not open to the Railway Administration any longer to treat them on any other basis or to deal with them in any other manner. This was Presumably done on the allegation that the Railway Administration had threatened to stop the payment of the extra allowance payable to running staff after the expiry of the final extension of the award up to the 10th of August 1965. The contentions of the Government are :- (i) that the High Court is wrong in taking the view that unless a notice under subsection (5) of section 14 of the Ordinance is given, the award remains operative, even though the maximum period specified under subsection (3) of the said section cannot exceed three years from the date on which it came into operation. (ii) that the High Court was wrong in holding that the appeals were incompetent, because, an extension of an award 4 was itself an award and could be challenged in appeal under subsection (5) of section 12 of the Ordinance, and that the High Court was wrong in interfering in this matter under Article 98 of the Constitution, for, in view of the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Ordinance, Article 98 could not be attracted in such a case. These petitions, in our view, raise important questions of law of considerable public importance affecting a large section ofI the community as also questions relating to the jurisdiction of A the High Court under Article 98 of the Constitution which need examination by this Court. Leave is, accordingly, granted as prayed for. During the pendency of the appeals in this Court payments will continue to be made to the Special Ticket Examiners and other staff affected by the award on the terms of the agreement already arrived at in the High Court. Petition accepted.