1. DECISION MAHMOOD AHMAD SOOFI (CHAIRMAN). -The name of Syed Ayub Ali Zaidi has been called out several times but he has n6t appeared today in this Court nor he has sent any sort of application praying for adjournment of the proceedings of this case. Syed Sajjad, Advocate, is present for the respondent. The respondent's counsel has drawn my special attention to the fact that a writ petition (W. P. No. 1615/70) instituted in the High Court by the Workers' Union, 'Colony Textile Mills Ismailabad, Multan, through its General Secretary, Aman Ullah, is at present pending in the Lahore High Court and in that writ petition the Labour 'Department of the 'Government of the Punjab (as re--presented by the Registrar, Trade Union, Multan Region, Multan) and the Colony Textile Mills Employees' Union Ismailabad (.Whose President is Syed Ayub Ali Zaidi) have both been impleaded as respondents. These fact are evident from the certified copy of the order of the Lahore High Court dated 3rd November 1970, already placed by the respondent's counsel on the record of the reference under consideration. The respondent's counsel has also filed a certified copy of an order of a Division Bench of the Lahore High Court, dated 22nd December 1970 by which the above- mentioned writ petition has been admitted to a full hearing. Notices of that writ petition have been sent by the High Court to the Registrar Trade Unions, Multan, who is an official of the Labour Department of the Government of the Punjab, and to the Colony Textile Mills Employees Union, Ismailabad, and certain other respondents. The respondent's counsel has rightly empha--sized the fact that the subject-matter of the present reference, which was sent to this labour Court by the Government of the Punjab by its order No. 3-11 (L-11)/68, dated 25 November 1970 is identical with the subject-matter of the present reference. Consequently, this reference, relating to an alleged industrial dispute, is not maintainable in this Labour Court and this Labour Court has no lawfulth authority for adjudicating any industrial dispute the substance of which is already sub judice in the Lahore High Court.
2. In view of the above-mentioned facts a copy of this judicial decision of the Punjab Labor Court, Central Zone, Lahore, shall be sent to the Secretary of the labour Department of the Government of the Punjab with a view to informing him that the reference made to this Court by that Department on the 25th February 1970 is not maintainable in this Court for the above indicated reasons.