In Brief
An employee of a co-operative society registered under the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act challenged her dismissal through the Industrial Dispute Act before a Labour Court. The Labour Court set aside her dismissal and awarded service benefits. The Kerala High Court quashed this award, accepting the society's contention that the KCS Act had exclusive jurisdiction over service disputes, excluding the ID Act. The Supreme Court allowed the employee's appeal, holding that both Acts possess concurrent jurisdiction to decide service disputes. The Dharappa precedent (interpreting the Karnataka Act identically) was correctly applicable here, as Section 69 of the KCS Act lacked express exclusion of other forums. Employees may choose either forum, subject to satisfying the ID Act's definition tests. The case was remanded to the High Court to decide the writ petition on merits."
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