In Brief
The Supreme Court resolved a conflict between two earlier decisions on whether an Industrial Tribunal becomes functus officio (without jurisdiction) after an award becomes enforceable. The Court held that merely because an award becomes enforceable after 30 days does not necessarily make it binding. An award passed without giving a party a hearing due to sufficient cause is a nullity. A Labour Court/Tribunal retains power to set aside an ex parte award if the affected party shows sufficient cause within reasonable time, regardless of whether the award has become enforceable. The Court directed the Labour Court to reconsider the management's application for setting aside the ex parte award and ordered provisional payments of Rs 1,00,000 each to the workmen.",
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