ID Act | Labour Court Possesses Power To Issue Notice To A Party Which May Not Be Party To The Reference: MP High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court ruled that the Labour Court has the power to issue notices to parties not originally part of a reference under the Industrial Disputes Act. The division bench of Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice Binod Kumar Dwivedi upheld the decision of a single-judge bench, which allowed the Labour Court to issue notices to subsequent purchasers of a company involved in a dispute. The case involved the transfer of Century Yarn and Century Denim Unit to Manjit Global Pvt. Ltd. and Manjit Cotton Pvt. Ltd., and the payment of compensation under Section 25-FF of the Industrial Disputes Act. The appellants argued that they were not liable for compensation as they were not part of the original proceedings. The court, however, emphasized that the Labour Court could issue notices to ensure that the rights of employees are protected, even if the parties were not initially involved.