Stale industrial dispute references can be quashed when no real dispute exists or is reasonably apprehended.

A reference under Section 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act is not time-barred, but it must rest on a real or reasonably apprehended industrial dispute and be made on a rational basis. A stale dispute, especially where the matter has already attained finality after the workman pursued the available departmental remedy, ordinarily cannot justify a valid reference. Where that statutory precondition is absent, the reference is amenable to judicial review under Article 226 and may be quashed as without jurisdiction.

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Issues: Whether a dispute raised after about seven years from dismissal could validly be referred by the appropriate Government under Section 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act, and whether the High Court could quash such reference in exercise of jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

Analysis: The power to make a reference under Section 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act is not time-barred, but it must be exercised reasonably and on a rational basis. A dispute that has become stale or where the matter has attained finality cannot ordinarily form the subject of a valid reference. On the facts, the dismissal had long since become final, the workman had already pursued the available departmental remedy, and no industrial dispute existed or could reasonably be said to have been apprehended when the reference was made. An administrative reference made without satisfaction of the statutory precondition of existence or apprehension of an industrial dispute is amenable to judicial review under Article 226.

Conclusion: The reference was without jurisdiction and was rightly quashed; the appeal succeeded.

Ratio Decidendi: A reference under Section 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act can be struck down in judicial review if, at the time of reference, no industrial dispute exists or is reasonably apprehended and the dispute has become stale.

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