1. DECISION MAHMOOD AHMAD SOOFI (CHAIRMAN).-This case was received back on the date 15th June 1970 from the now defunct West Pakistan Labour Appellate Tribunal, Karachi `l (Camp Lahore) on the basis of an appellate order of remand passed by Mr. Inamullah Khan, the then West Pakistan .
2. Labour Appellate Tribunal, on the date 9th May 1970. By chat order Mr. Inamullah Khan accepted the appeal of the present peti--tioner, i.e. The Road Transport Corporation Employees Union (Regd.). Friends Hotel, Dera Adda, Multan, against the order of this Labour Court dated 12th February 1970. The text of the impugned order of this Labour Court was worded as follows: - "This application is accompanied by a certificate of failure of conciliation proceedings issued to the parties by the Conciliation Officer under section 6(7) of the West Pakistan Industrial Disputes Ordinance, 1968. It is not maintainable in this Court inasmuch as the procedure prescribed in section 32 of the recently promulgated Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969 read with the provisions of subsection (2) of section 67 of the current Ordinance, is quite different from the procedure enjoined by the above-mentioned Ordinance of 1968. A Labour Court now has no lawful jurisdiction for adjudicating and determining a dispute of this nature unless such a dispute has been referred to it by the Provincial Government under subsection (2) of section 12 of the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969."
3. The relevant portion of the West Pakistan Labour Appellate Tribunals order dated 9th May 1970 was as follows: - "The impugned order was passed on an application for determination of certain Industrial disputes under the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Ordinance, 1959, and that of the West Pakistan Industrial Disputes Ordinance, 1968. The learned Chairman of the Labour Court came to the conclusion that these applications are not maintainable in view of the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969, as the Labour Court has no jurisdiction to dispose of these applications any more.
4. I have already held and given detailed reasons in the order in Appeal No. LIN-255 of 1969, Abbas Ali Shah v. West Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority, Lahore that such rights are vested rights and, therefore, they cannot be taken away by the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969, except by express language or by necessary intendment. All laws as a result are prospective and cannot be constructed from section 67 of the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969, that the provisions of 1969-Ordinance have been given retrospective effect. I would, therefore, allow these appeals. The learned Court to dispose of these applications in accordance with law."
5. In this context it is essential to reproduce the provisions of subsection (8) of section 6 of the Old West Pakistan Industrial Disputes Ordinance, 1968 (which was repealed by the Central Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969, with effect from the date 13th November-1969). Subsection (8) of section 6 of the West Pakistan Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1968 contained the following provisions, `inter alia'.
6. "Provided that in the case of an industrial dispute to which the Central Government or the Provincial Government is a party, no such application shall be made with respect to the dispute or any matter constituting the dispute, if within twenty-one-days of the issue of the certificate, Government, by an order published in the official Gazette, declares that such dispute or matter is frivolous or vexatious or that reference of such dispute or matters to the Court is inexpedient on public grounds.
7. On the other hand subsection (2) of section 16 of the West Pakistan Industrial Disputes Ordinance; 1968, embodied the following binding provisions: - "An award under subsection (5) of section 15, and any decision of the Court otter than an award or a decision under section 26 or section 37, shall be' final and shall not be questioned in any manner by or before any judicial authority, including the High Court."
8. It may now be stated here, with due emphasis, that the impugned order of this Labour Court, dated 12th February 1970 by which the application of the present petitioner, which was accompanied by a certificate of failure of conciliation proceedings under section 6 (8) of the West Pakistan Industrial Disputes Ordinance, 1968 was obviously neither an award nor a decision of this Labour Court under either section 26 or section 37 of the West Pakistan Industrial Disputes Ordinance, 1968. The impugned order of the West Pakistan Labour Court Central Zone, dated 12th February 1970 was, consequently, final and could not legally be questioned in any manner by or before and judicial authority, including the High Court ,--vide subsection (2) of section 16 of the West Pakistan Industrial Disputes Ordinance, 1968 as cited above. In view of then circumstances the petitioner, i.e., the Road Transport Corporation Employees Union (Regd.) was prohibited by subsection (2) of section 16 of that very Ordinance of 1968 from questioning before the West Pakistan Labour Appellate Tribunal, Karachi (Camp Lahore) the order of dismissal of the petitioner's application passed on 12th February 1970 by the West Pakistan Labour Court, Central Zone, Lahore. For the same reasons the West Pakistan Labour Appellate Tribunal, Karachi was not legally entitled to hear and decide any sort of appeal against the final order of the West Pakistan Labour Court, Central Zone. Lahore, dated 12th February 1970, especially after the West Pakistan Industrial Disputes Ordinance, 1968 had been repealed. The reasons for which the application of the present petitioner was dismissed by the West Pakistan Industrial Court, Central Zone, Lahore in accordance with the law were mentioned in the body of the relevant order itself. It may, however, be stated here that the West Pakistan Labour Appellate Tribunal, Karachi, itself ceased to exist with effect from the afternoon of the 30th of June 1970, in consequence of the Dissolution of One Unit and the West Pakistan Industrial Court, Central Zone, Lahore, also ceased to exist at the same the and for the same reason. The present designation of this new Labour Court is the Punjab Labour Court, Central Zone, Lahore. Quite apart from the facts and reasons recorded above it is transpa--rently clear that the vaguely worded order of Mr. Inamullah Khan, Member of the now defunct West Pakistan Labour Appellate Tribunal, Karachi, dated 9th May 1970, asking the West Pakistan Labour Court Central Zone, Lahore to "dispose of the application of the petitioners in accordance with law even though that application had already been decided by the then West Pakistan Labour Court (Central Zone) on the 12th February 1970, in accordance with the provisions of the law as it stood on that date, is not binding in any manner on the present Punjab Labour Court Central Zone, Lahore, which has been established recently under the Industrial Relations Ordinance 1969.
9. In view of all the facts and circumstances detailed above this application of the Road Transport Corporation Employee, Union (Regd.), Multan is dismissed. No appeal lies against this decision.