A company having registered office at Aurangabad and the workman appointed in Aurangabad transferred to Pondicherry. Pondicherry establishment was closed and the workman was terminated. The workman raised dispute and fil

Hon'ble Supreme Court in Nandram vs. Garware Polyster Ltd., Civil Appeal No. 1409 of 2016 considered the issue of jurisdiction of Labour Court in almost same facts. Briefly stated, in this case, a workman raised industrial dispute and filed the complaint before Labour Court at Aurangabad i.e. where the registered office of the Company was situated. It may be noted that in the aforesaid case, the appointment of the workman was initially made at Aurangabad and later he was transferred to Pondicherry. Thereafter, owing to closure of Pondicherry establishment, services of workman was terminated. Hon'ble Supreme Court after considering all the material and contention of the parties observed that "In the background of the factual matrix, the undisputed position is that the appellant was employed by the Company in Aurangabad, he was only transferred to Pondicherry, the decision to close down the unit at Pondicherry was taken by the Company at Aurangabad and consequent upon that decision only the appellant was terminated. Therefore, it cannot be said that there is no cause of action at all in Aurangabad. The decision to terminate the appellant having been taken at Aurangabad necessarily part of the cause of action has arisen at Aurangabad. We have no quarrel that Labour Court, Pondicherry is within its jurisdiction to consider the case of the appellant, since he has been terminated while he was working at Pondicherry. But that does not mean that Labour Court in Aurangabad within whose jurisdiction the Management is situated and where the Management has taken the decision to close down the unit at Pondicherry and pursuant to which the appellant was terminated from service also does not have the jurisdiction. In the facts of this case both the Labour Courts have the jurisdiction to deal with the matter. Hence, the Labour Court at Aurangabad is well within its jurisdiction to consider the complaint filed by the appellant. Therefore, we set aside the order passed by the High Court and the Industrial Court at Aurangabad and restore the order passed by the Labour Court, Aurangabad though for different reasons." In view of the aforesaid decision of Hon'ble Supreme Court in Nandram vs. Garware Polyster Ltd , it can be stated that both the Labour Courts at Aurangabad and Pondicherry will have jurisdiction to entertain the complaint by the workman. It can be stated that as part of the cause of action has arisen at Aurangabad (since appellant was employed by the Company in Aurangabad; he was only transferred to Pondicherry; the decision to close down the unit at Pondicherry was taken by the Company at Aurangabad and consequent upon that decision only the appellant was terminated.), hence, it was not correct to reject the complaint on the ground of lack of jurisdiction.