Chapter VIII POWER OF LABOUR COURT AND INDUSTRIAL COURT TO TRY OFFENCES UNDER THIS ACT

(1) A Labour Court shall have power to try offences punishable under this Act. (2) Every offence punishable under this Act shall be tried by a Labour Court within the limits of whose jurisdiction it is committed.

No Labour Court shall take cognizance of any offence except on a complaint of facts constituting such offence made by the person affected thereby or a recognised union or on a report in writing by the Investigating Officer.

In respect of offences punishable under this Act, a Labour Court shall have all the powers under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (V of 1898), of Presidency Magistrate in Greater Bombay and a Magistrate of the First Class elsewhere, and in the trial of every such offence, shall follow the procedure laid down in Chapter XXII of the said Code for a summary trial in which an appeal lies; and the rest of the provisions of the said Code shall, so far as may be, apply to such trial.

Notwithstanding anything contained in section 32 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, l898 (V of 1898), it shall be lawful for any Labour Court to pass any sentence authorised under this Act in excess of its powers under section 32 of the said Code.

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 40, an appeal shall lie to the Industrial Court,— (a) against a conviction by a Labour Court, by the person convicted ; (b) against an acquittal by a Labour Court in its special jurisdiction, by the complainant ; (c) for enhancement of a sentence awarded by a Labour Court in its special jurisdiction, by the State Government. (2) Every appeal shall be made within thirty days from the date of the conviction, acquittal or sentence, as the case may be : Provided that, the Industrial Court may, for sufficient reason, allow an appeal after the expiry of the said period.

(1) The Industrial Court in an appeal under section 42 may confirm, modify, add to, or rescind any order of the Labour Court appealed against; and may pass such order thereon as it may deem fit. (2) in respect of offences punishable under this Act, the Industrial Court shall have all the powers of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (V of 1898). (3) A copy of the order passed by the Industrial Court shall be sent to the Labour Court.

The Industrial Court shall have superintendence over all Labour Courts and may,— (a) call for returns; (b) make and issue general rules and prescribe forms for regulating the practice and procedure of such Courts in matters not expressly provided for by this Act and in particular, for securing the expeditious disposal of cases; (c) prescribe form in which books, entries and accounts shall be kept by officers of any such Courts; and (d) settle a table of fees payable for process issued by a Labour Court or the Industrial Court.

The Industrial Court may, by order in writing, and for reasons to be stated therein, withdraw any proceeding under this Act pending before a Labour Court, and transfer the same to another Labour Court for disposal and the Labour Court to which the proceeding is so transferred may dispose of the proceeding, but subject to any special direction in the order of transfer, proceed either de novo or from the stage at which it was so transferred.

No order of a Labour Court or an order of the Industrial Court in appeal in respect of offences tried by it under this Act shall be called in question in any criminal court.