DECISION ' The services of the appellant, who was employed as Accountant in the Karachi Club, the respondent herein, were terminated with effect from 11th October, 1975. The appellant challenged the orders of termination of his services before the learned Labour Court which set aside the same and directed the respondent club to reinstate the appellant with full hack benefits but gave it an option to hold a proper enquiry against the appellant. The respondent Club, thereupon, proceeded to hold a domestic enquiry against the appellant in accordance with the directions of the learned Labour Court but the appellant objected to the holding of an enquiry against him. The appellant's appeal ultimately came to be dismissed by my learned predecessor by his order dated 27th March, 1979. In the meanwhile, on 30th October, 1978 the services of the appellant were terminated on the ground that he had become redundant to the requirements of the Club because of the closing of the liquor bar due to introduction of prohibition on the service of liquor. The appellants submitted a fresh grievance petition against this second order of termination of his services but the same has been dismissed by the learned Labour Court by its decision, dated 17th December, 1980 on the ground that the grievance petition had been filed beyond the period of limitation.
2. The grievance notice in respect of the second termination of his services was sent to the respondent Club by the appellant on 19th December, 1978 and was actually received by the respondent on 20th December, 1978. The grievance application, therefore, should have been filed within two months of the reply to the notice of the respondent Club, if the reply had been communicated to the appellant within 15 days of the Service of the grievance notice, or if no reply had been received by him within the said period of 15 days of the service of the grievance notice, within two months of the expiry of 15 days from the date of service of the notice. Since the grievance notice was served upon the respondent-Company on 20th December, 1978 the grievance petition should have been filed within 2 1/2 months of the said date i,e, before the 4th March, 1979. However, it was filed on 5th March, 1979 beyond the period of limitation. Even if it had been filed on 4th March, 1979 it would have been beyond the period of limitation. Mr. Mirza Muhammad Kazirn, the learned counsel of the appellant, sought to argue, that the appellant was entitled to file his grievance petition within two months of the communication to him of the reply to his grievance notice and since admittedly the respondent Club replied to the appellant's grievance notice on 27th February, 1979, therefore, the grievance petition is in 1 time. In support of his contention the learned counsel relied upon the provisions of the proviso to subsection (4) of section 25-A, I. R.
0. The said subsection together with the proviso reads as follows :-
(4) If the employer fails to communicate a decision within the period specified in subsection (2) or, as the case may be, subsection (3), or if the worker is dissatisfied with such decision, the worker or Shop Steward may take the matter to his Collective Bargaining Agent or the Labour Court, or, as the case may be, the Collective Bargaining Agent may take the matter to the Labour Court, and where the matter is taken to the Labour Court, it shall give a decision within seven days from the date of the matter being brought before it as if such matter were an industrial dispute : Provided that a worker who desires to take the matter to the Labour Court shall do. So within a period of two months from the date of the communication of the employer or, as the case may be, from the expiry of the period mentioned in subsection (2) or subsection (3), as the case may be.
A bare perusal of the aforesaid provision makes it clear that the proviso must be read in conjunctions with subsections (2), (3) and (4). In other words, if the reply to the grievance notice is received within 15 days, the grievance petition must be filed within two months of the receipt of the reply to the grievance notice but if reply to the grievance notice is not received within 15 days of the service of the grievance notice upon the employer, then the grievance petition must be filed within two and a half months of the expiry of the date upon which the service was effected on the employer of a grievance notice. In the instant case, as already pointed out, the grievance petition was filed beyond the period of two and a half months of the service of the grievance notice upon the employer.
3. For the reasons stated by me above, I would concur in the view taken by the learned Labour Court that the appellant's grievance petition is barred by limitation. I would, accordingly, dismiss the same in limine.