Chhattisgarh High Court has issued notice to the state government on the issue of non-appointment of President in the Industrial Court for the last one-and-a-half years.
The division bench of Chief Justice PR Ramachandra Menon and Justice PP Sahu, after hearing the submission sought reply from the state government within two weeks.
The PIL, filed by Advocate Malay Jain, stated that the appointment of the Chairperson in the Industrial Court was mandatory under the Chhattisgarh Industrial Relations Act, 1960, but for more than one-and-a-half years, the state government has not been deliberately appointing the chairman.
According to the PIL, the Chairman is appointed with the recommendation of the High Court. The High Court recommends a name for the appointment of the Speaker, on which the State Government has to appoint, but no decision has been taken by the state government till date despite the Speaker recommendation.
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The hearing in the Industrial Court is being affected due to the non-appointment of the Chairman. It was alleged by the petitioner that the state government was trying to keep the Labour Justice Service under its control, which was a direct attack on the independence of the judiciary.
The President of the Industrial Court is appointed by a person, who is eligible to become a Justice of the High Court. His salary is also the same as that of a High Court Justice.