Industrial Disputes Act, 1947

¹[(1) Subject to any rules that may be made in this behalf, an arbitrator, a Board, Court, Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal shall follow such procedure as the arbitrator or other authority concerned may think fit.]

(2) A conciliation officer or a member of a Board, ²[or Court or the presiding officer of a Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal] may for the purpose of inquiry into any existing or apprehended industrial dispute, after giving reasonable notice, enter the premises occupied by any establishment to which the dispute relates.

(3) Every Board, Court, ³[Labour Court, Tribunal and National Tribunal] shall have the same powers as are vested in a Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), when trying a suit, in respect of the following matters, namely:--

• (a) enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath;
• (b) compelling the production of documents and material objects;
• (c) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses;
• (d) in respect of such other matters as may be prescribed;

and every inquiry or investigation by a Board, Court, ⁴[Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal], shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of sections 193 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).

(4) A conciliation officer ⁵[may enforce the attendance of any person for the purpose of examination of such person or call for] and inspect any document which he has ground for considering to be relevant to the industrial dispute ⁶[or to be necessary for the purpose of verifying the implementation of any award award or carrying out any other duty imposed on him under this Act, and for the aforesaid purposes, the conciliation officer shall have the same powers as are vested in a Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), ⁷[in respect of enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him or of compelling the production of documents]].

⁸[(5) A Court, Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal may, if it so thinks fit, appoint one or more persons having special knowledge of the matter under consideration as assessor or assessors to advise it in the proceeding before it.

(6) All conciliation officers, members of a Board or Court and the presiding officers of a Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).

(7) Subject to any rules made under this Act, the costs of, and incidental to, any proceeding before a Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal shall be in the discretion of that Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal and the Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal, as the case may be, shall have full power to determine by and to whom and to what extent and subject to what conditions, if any, such costs are to be paid, and to give all necessary directions for the purposes aforesaid and such costs may, on application made to the appropriate Government by the person entited, be recovered by that Government in the same manner as an arrear of land revenue.]

⁹[(8) Every ¹⁰[Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal] shall be deemed to be Civil Court for the purposes of ¹¹[sections 345, 346 and 348 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974)].]

¹²[(9) Every award made, order issued or settlement arrived at by or before Labour Court or Tribunal or National Tribunal shall be executed in accordance with the procedure laid down for execution of orders and decree of a Civil Court under order 21 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908).

(10) The Labour Court or Tribunal or National Tribunal, as the case may be, shall transmit any award, order or settlement to a Civil Court having jurisdiction and such Civil Court shall execute the award, order or settlement as if it were a decree passed by it.]

STATE AMENDMENTS

Karnataka--

Amendment of section 11.--For sub-section (4) of section 11 of the principal Act, the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:--

"(4) A Consiliation Officer may, if he considers that any document or the testimony of any person is relevant or necessary for the settlement or an industrial dispute or for the purpose of verifying the implementation of any award or carrying out any other duty imposed on him under this Act, call for and inspect such document or summon and examine such person. For the aforesaid purposes, the Conciliation Officer shall have the same powers as are vested in a Civil Court while trying a suit under the Code of civil Procedure, 1908 (Central Act V of 1908), in respect of the following matters, namely:--

• (i) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath;
• (ii) compelling the production of documents;
• (iii) issuing commission for examination of witness.

(4A) Whoever refuses or fails to attend or take part in a conciliation proceedings or fails or refuses to produce the documents in pursuance of an order issued under sub-section (4), shall, on conviction, be punishable with imprisonment for a period which may extend to three months or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees or with both."

[Vide Karnataka Act 5 of 1988, s. 4]