HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE OF ANDHRA PRADESH THE HONOURABLE SMT. JUSTICE T.MEENA KUMARI WRIT PETITION No. 8794 OF 2009 Thursday, the Fifteenth day of Jul7, Two Thousand and Ten Between The District Treasury Officer, Mahabubnagar and another Petitioners AND The Labour Court-III, Hyderabad and another Respondents THE HONOURABLE SMT. JUSTICE T.MEENA KUMARI WRIT PETITION NO. 8794 OF 2009 ORAL ORDER: Seeking to quash the order dated 27.8.2008 passed in I.D.No.56 of 2006 by the first respondent allowing the petition filed under Sec.2A(2) of the Industrial Disputes Act and setting aside the order dated 14.3.1988 passed by the first petitioner herein removing the second respondent from service, is assailed in this writ petition. The second respondent herein was appointed as Section Writer on daily wages on 1.12.1986 and was entrusted with the work of writing money orders of Social Welfare Pensioners and was paid Rs.15/- per working day. While so, by order dated 31.7.1987, the first petitioner herein has terminated the services of the second respondent and pursuant to the interim orders passed in WPMP No. 14603 of 1987 in W.P. No. 10937 of 1987 filed by the second respondent, his services were regularized on the same terms with effect from 5.8.1987. Again by Circular Memo dated 14.3.1988, the services of the second respondent and others were terminated on the ground of ‘no budget and no work’, which was assailed by him before the A.P. Administrative Tribunal, Hyderabad, but to no avail. Therefore, the second respondent raised the above industrial dispute to reinstate him as Cashier/Junior Accountant. The first respondent herein by the order impugned in this writ petition had allowed the petition as prayed for holding that the second respondent shall be deemed to have been in service with effect from the date of removal i.e. 14.03.1988 granting the relief of reinstatement and other ancillary releifs. Aggrieved thereby, the present writ petition is filed by the respondents in the above I.D. On 28.4.2009, while issuing rule nisi, a learned Judge of this court has suspended the impugned award in toto without the requirement of payment of wages under Sec. 17-B of the Industrial Disputes Act. Heard learned counsel for the writ petitioners and the learned counsel for the second respondent. It is contended by learned counsel for the writ petitioners that the order terminating the services of the second respondent was passed as long back as on 14.3.1988, which was assailed by the second respondent in the above I.D. nearly after eighteen years and on this ground of laches alone, the award is liable to be set aside. He further contends that the second respondent was a money order writer writing the money orders at the commission of Rs.0.25 paise per money order and, therefore, he is not entitled to claim a permanent post. While it is the contention of the learned counsel for the second respondent that pursuant to the order dated 27.11.1988 made in W.P. No. 10937 of 1988, the second respondent is entitled to claim the relief as he shall be deemed to be in continued service with effect from the date of removal i.e. 14.3.1988. Adverting to this contention, a bare look at the award impugned, make is clear that there is no independent application of mind by the Tribunal to this aspect. The Tribunal had merely referred to the order made in the above writ petition and without assigning any reason in support of such a finding, arrived at the conclusion. Even otherwise, the implementation of the said order relates to a separate cause of action. That apart, as sought to be contended by the learned counsel for the writ petitioners, the second respondent has raised industrial dispute nearly after eighteen years of his termination, without there being any plausible explanation for such an abnormal delay. Therefore, he is not entitled for the relief on the ground of laches also. Consequently, the award impugned is liable to be set aside and is accordingly set aside and the writ petition is allowed. No order as to costs. ________________________ Justice T. Meena Kumari July 15, 2010 MAS