1. SAEEDUZZAMAN SIDDIQUI, J.--This petition under Article 199 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is directed against the judgment of Sindh Labour Appellate Tribunal, Karachi, dated 12-9-1989, passed in Appeal No, KAR-258 of 1984 filed by respondent No, 2 against the order of Labour Court dated 30-9-1984. The relevant facts are as follows:-
1. Respondent No, 2 was appointed as Sales Representative in the appellant's organisation on 6-3- 1983. It is alleged by the petitioner that respondent No, 2 resigned from his job on 7-5-1983 which was accepted by the appellant on 13-6-1983. Respondent No, 2 served a grievance notice on the petitioner on 14-6-1983 which was followed by a reminder letter dated 28-6-1983. In reply to the grievance notice and the reminder letter of respondent No, 2, the appellant asked respondent No, 2 to see some officer of its personnel department by Telegram dated 3-9-1983. Respondent No, 2 accordingly met the officers of personnel department on 7-7-1983. The petitioner's case is that a reply was sent to respondent No, 2 with reference to his grievance notice in the meeting dated 7-7- 1983, informing him that his grievances were unjustified hence could not be accepted. Respondent No, 2 on the other hand contends that no reply was received by him. Be that as it may, on 19-10- 1983, respondent No, 2 wrote a letter to the petitioner complaining that he had not received any reply to his grievance notice and regarding the outcome of his meeting with the senior officials of the personnel department of the petitioner. The petitioner in reply to above letter of respondent wrote back on 7-11-1983, that a reply after the meeting of respondent No, 2 with the officials of personnel department of petitioner, was despatched to him on 2-8-1983, and a copy of that letter was forwarded to respondent No, 2 with the letter of petitioner dated 7-11-1983. The respondent No, 2, thereafter, submitted his grievance petition before the Vth Labour Court, Karachi, on 26-111983.
2. The petitioner contested the petition and raised preliminary objection that it was time-barred. The Vth Labour Court upheld the preliminary objection of petitioner and dismissed the petition of respondent No, 2 as time-barred by its order dated 30-9-1984. Against the order of Labour Court, the respondent No, 2 submitted an appeal before the Sindh Labour Appellate Tribunal which was allowed by the impugned order and the case has been remanded back to the Labour Court for decision on merits in accordance with law.
3. Mr. Noor Muhammad, the learned counsel for the petitioner, contended before us that the conclusion of the learned Appellate Tribunal that a maximum period of 5-1/2 months was available to the petitioner from the date he served the grievance notice on the appellant to file his grievance petition under section 25 of I.R.O. is based on miscalculation of period of limitation prescribed under the aforesaid section for filing the grievance petition. The respondent No, 2 on the other hand contended that the petition filed by him before the Labour Court was within time as he was prevented by the petitioner from approaching the Labour Court on the promise that he will be reinstated in service. In order to appreciate the contentions of the parties it will be appropriate to reproduce here section 25-A of I.R.O. which is as follows:- "25-A. Redress of individual grievances.--(1) A worker may bring his grievance in respect of any right guaranteed or secured to him by or under any law or any award or settlement for the time being in force to the notice of his employer in writing either himself or through his Shop Steward or Collective Bargaining Agent, within three months of the day on which cause of such grievance arises.
(2) Where a worker himself brings his grievance to the notice of the employer, the employer shall, within fifteen days of the grievance being brought to his notice, communicate his decision in writing to the worker.
(3) Where a worker brings his grievance to the notice of his employer through his Shop Steward or Collective Bargining Agent the employer shall, within seven days of grievance being brought to his notice, communicate his decision in writing to the Shop Steward or, as the case may be, the Collective Bargaining Agent.
(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 in an industrial dispute: Provided that a worker who desires to so 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.
(5) In adjudicating and determining a grievance under subsection (4), the Labour Court shall go into all the facts of the case and pass such orders as may be just and proper in the circumstances of the case.
(8) If a decision under subsection (4) of an order under subsection (5) given by the Labour Court or a decision of the Tribunal in an appeal against such a decision or order is not given effect to or complied with within a week or within the period specified in such order or decision, the defaulter shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees.
(9) No person shall be prosecuted under subsection (8) except on a complaint in writing:-
(a) by the workman if the order or decision in his favour is not implemented within the period specified therein, or
(b) by the Labour Court or Tribunal, if an order or decision thereof is not complied with.
(10) For the purpose of this section, workers having common grievance arising out of a common cause of action may make a joint application to the Labour Court.
4. A careful examination of subsection (1) of section 25-A of Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969 will show that a workman may bring his grievance which is guaranteed or secured to him by or under any law or any award or settlement for the time being in force, to the notice of his employer in writing, either himself or through his shop steward or Collective Bargaining Agent within three months of the day on which cause of such grievance arises. Subsection (2) of section 25-A provides, that where a worker himself brings his grievance to the notice of the employer, the employer shall, within fifteen days of the grievance being brought to his notice, communicate his decision in writing to the worker. Subsection (3) is not relevant here, as the petitioner in the present case personally took his grievance to his employer through notice. Subsection (4) provides that if the employer fails to communicate a decision within the period specified in subsection (2) or subsection (3) as the case may be, or if the worker is dissatisfied with such decision, he may bring his grievance before Labour Court in the form of a grievance petition within two months from the date of communication by the employer, or, as the case may be, from the expiry of the period mentioned in subsection (2) or subsection (3) of section 25-A. It is, therefore quite clear that it is not at all necessary for a worker who has served a grievance notice on his employer to wait beyond a period of 15 days for a reply from his employee as after expiry of 15 days period from the service of grievance notice he becomes entitled to file the grievance petition before the Labour Court within next 2 months. In the case before us from the material on record it is clear that respondent No, 2 served his grievance notice on the petitioner on 14-6-1983. The respondent No, 2, therefore, could file his grievance petition under the law before the Labour Court within 2 months next after expiry of 15 days period from 14-6-1983. Therefore, the petition under section 25-A of I.R.O. filed by the respondent No, 2 on 26-11-1983 was clearly time-barred. The respondent No, 2, however, contends that he was prevented from presenting his grievance petition as the petitioner represented to him in the meeting held on 7-7-1983, that he will be reinstated in service. Neither there is any material in support of this plea on record nor any such plea was raised before the Labour Tribunal. From the letter dated 19-10-1983 which the respondent No, 2 wrote to petitioner it is clear that no such claim was made by respondent No, 2 before filing of the grievance petition. In that letter respondent No, 2 only complained that he had not received any reply either to his grievance dated 14-6-1983 or the result of the meeting which he had with the officials of personal department applicant on 7-7-1983. On the contrary he admitted that he was informed by the applicant that a reply was sent to him in the last week of September, 1983 which he claimed he did not receive. In these circumstances the Labour Court rightly held that the grievance petition of respondent No, 2 was time-barred. We accordingly accept this petition and declare the decision of Appellate Tribunal dated 25-9-1988 as illegal and of no legal effect. There will be no order as to costs.