ZIA MAHMOOD MIRZA, J.- This order will dispose of WP 737/86, WP 738/86, WP 739/86, WP 740/86 and WP 847/86 as common questions of law and facts are involved in all these petitions.
2. Grievance petitions under section 25-A of the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969 filed by the petitioners in all these cases were accepted by the Labour Court and the petitioners were ordered to be reinstated with back benefits. Respondent Mills preferred appeals before the Punjab Labour Appellate Tribunal which were accepted by a single order dated 18.2.1986 and the cases were remanded to the Labour Court with a direction to decide whether the grievance petitions were properly presented. It may be pertinently observed that in all these cases, an objection was raised before the Appellate Tribunal that presentation of the grievance petitions was not proper as they were presented by a lawyer arid not by the petitioners themselves.
3. It is pointed out by the learned counsel appearing for the parties that the question for the consideration of which the Appellate Tribunal had remanded the cases to the Labour Court has since been decided by a Full Bench of this Court on a reference made to it and the Full Bench has expressed the view "that the presentation of the petition by a worker 'himself is not an essential requirement of sub-section (4) of Section 25-A of the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969". Learned counsel appearing for the respondent/employer submits that in view of the judgment of the Full Bench, all the writ petitions may be accepted and the cases remanded to the learned Punjab Labour Appellate Tribunal for deciding the appeals of the employer on merits.
4. In view of what has been said above, all the writ petitions bearing Nos. WP 737/86, WP 738/86, WP 739/86, WP 740/86 and WP 847/86 are allowed, the impugned order of the learned Punjab Labour Appellate Tribunal is set aside and the cases are remanded to it for deciding the appeals of the respondent/employer on merits.