THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR WRIT PETITION NO.2933 OF 2004 DATED 13TH NOVEMBER, 2009 BETWEEN Thota Srinivasa Rao … Petitioner and The Hon’ble Labour Court, Guntur, Rep. by its Presiding Officer. And another … Respondents THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR WRIT PETITION NO.2933 OF 2004 ORDER: The petitioner claims to have worked as a Salesman in Vijaya Saradhi Traders, Tenali, Guntur District, the second respondent, from 01.11.1984 to 30.04.1995. It is his grievance that he was illegally terminated from service without notice. He raised an Industrial Dispute under Section 2-A(2) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (for brevity, ‘the Act of 1947’) in I.D.No.139 of 1999 before the Labour Court, Guntur. The said I.D. was dismissed for default on 11.07.2002. Thereupon, the petitioner filed I.A. No.48 of 2002 to set aside the default order and to permit him to prosecute the matter on merits. However, the said application was also dismissed by the Labour Court by order dated 26.09.2002. Aggrieved thereby, the petitioner approached this Court by way of the present writ petition seeking a declaration that the action of the Labour Court in dismissing the I.D. for default was illegal; and a consequential direction to restore the same on the file of the Labour Court, Guntur. A reading of the order dated 26.09.2002 passed by the Labour Court reflects that there was some amount of negligence on the part of the petitioner in prosecuting his case. The Labour Court stated that the counsel for the petitioner was absent on 11.07.2002 and had he come to Court on that day, he could have filed a petition on the very same day or on the next day, showing his bona fides. The failure on the part of the counsel in this regard cannot be held against the petitioner. The fact remains that the I.D. was raised by the petitioner aggrieved by his alleged illegal termination from service. In view of the substantial nature of the dispute raised by the petitioner, which had far reaching consequences for him, the Labour Court ought to have decided the matter on merits instead of denying him on technicalities. The order of the Labour Court dated 11.07.2002 dismissing the I.D. for default is accordingly set aside and the said I.D. is directed to be restored to the file. In view of the delay in the matter owing to the pendency of these proceedings, the Labour Court is directed to dispose of the said I.D. expeditiously, preferably within a period of six months from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. The writ petition is accordingly allowed. There shall be no order as to costs. ____________________ SANJAY KUMAR, J. 13th November, 2009. VGSR