ISSUE:
Whether Section 11A of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, applies to disputes referred before its enactment?
Whether the Tribunal has the authority under Section 11A to reassess evidence and modify the punishment imposed by an employer?
Whether an employer, who has not conducted a proper domestic inquiry, can justify the dismissal of a workman by adducing fresh evidence before the Tribunal?
RULE:
Section 11A does not apply retrospectively. A provision altering substantive rights cannot operate retrospectively unless clearly intended by the legislature. Section 11A fundamentally changes the Tribunal’s role by conferring the power to reappraise evidence and substitute its own judgment, which was previously unavailable. No express language or necessary implication in the statute justifies its retrospective application.
The Tribunal now has the authority to reassess findings of misconduct and alter punishment. Under Section 11A, the Tribunal is no longer bound by the employer’s conclusions. It must satisfy itself on the evidence and determine both guilt and the appropriateness of punishment, independent of managerial discretion.
An employer may justify dismissal by adducing fresh evidence if no proper domestic inquiry was conducted. If an inquiry is absent or defective, the Tribunal must consider the evidence before it and determine whether the dismissal was justified. Section 11A does not alter the employer’s right to present such evidence.