NASIM AHMED Versus MUSLIM COMMERCIAL BANK LTD., KARACHI

DECISION

The appellant was working as an Accountant in the Muslim Commercial Bank. There appears to have been some fraud in the Bank in which he was implicated. There was a domestic enquiry held against him and on the finding of .the Enquiry Officer he was dismissed from service on 5‑8‑1985. He had served a grievance notice on the respondent on 23‑10‑1985, but did not file the petition before the Labour Court.

2. It appears that there was a criminal case also pending against him on the same facts and he was convicted by the Special Judge (Offences in Bank) at Karachi. There was an appeal preferred against the conviction, which was allowed by the High Court and he was released from Jail. It was after this judgment of acquittal that a second grievance notice was given and the petition was filed before the Labour Court.

3. The existence of a criminal proceeding is no bar to the holding of the domestic enquiry. The two proceedings are totally separate and independent of each other. The scheme of section 25‑A of the I.R.O. envisages a worker bringing his grievance to the notice of employer within 3 months from the date of the cause of action and the petition is filed within 2‑1/2 months thereafter. The cause of action had arisen in August 1985. He had also served a grievance notice as referred to above. Admittedly the second grievance notice was given after a lapse of almost six years from the date of dismissal. The law does not provide for two notices nor two causes of action. I will therefore dismiss the appeal in limine.

H.B.T./2164/Lb.S Appeal dismissed.