1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY APPELLATE SIDE, NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR WRIT PETITION NO.3483/2008 Vishwas Maniramji Bansod ...Versus... The Executive Engineer, Special Project Division, Amravati and others -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Office Notes, Office Memoranda of Coram, appearances, Court's Orders or Court's or Judge's Orders directions and Registrar's orders. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Shri S.S. Patil, Adv. for petitioner] CORAM:- A.B. CHAUDHARI, J. DATED :- 11.08.2008 Admittedly, the petitioner whose services were terminated in 1987 approached the Labour Commissioner in the year 1997 i.e. after ten years. The plea taken by the respondents before the Labour Court was that when the case became ripe for evidence, relevant record was destroyed. In this peculiar situation, the Labour Court answered the reference in negative, and in my opinion, rightly so. The delay of ten years is fatal to the case of the petitioner. 2 Learned Counsel for the petitioner cited decision of the Supreme Court of India in the case of Ajaib Singh...Versus...The Sirhind Co-operative Marketing-cum-Processing Service Society Ltd. & Anr., reported in 1999 LLR 529. Though in the said judgment, it is laid down that the provisions of Article 137 of the Limitation Act are not applicable to the proceedings under the Industrial Disputes Act, it is well settled that the litigant has to approach the Court within a reasonable period. Writ Petition is, therefore, dismissed. No order as to costs. JUDGE ssw