13-07-2026 ct no. 13 Sl. 14 pk FMA 644 of 2026 CAN 1 of 2026 CAN 2 of 2026 Commerce House Owners Association Ltd. -Versus- The State of West Bengal and others Mr. Siddhartha Banerjee, Mr. Dyutiman Banerjee, Mr. Amarnath Sanyal …for the appellant. Mr. Soumya Majumder … for the respondents. Re: CAN 1 of 2026 1. Affidavit of service filed in Court is taken on record. 2. Sufficient grounds are available to explain the delay in filing the instant appeal. Hence, the delay is condoned. 3. Accordingly, CAN 1 of 2026 is allowed and disposed of. Re: FMA 644 of 2026 4. The subject matter of challenge in the instant proceedings is the judgment dated 24.03.2026 passed by the Single Bench of this Court. 5. The writ petition was filed by the appellant challenging an order dated 12.12.2025 passed by the 7th Industrial Tribunal, West Bengal in Case 2 No. 29/2013/2A(2). The appellant had applied before the Industrial Tribunal seeking the proceedings in Case No. 29/2013/2A(2) and declaration that the Industrial Tribunal lacks jurisdiction to entertain the same in view of the coming into force of the IR Code of 2020 that was notified on 21.11.2025 in the State of West Bengal. The Tribunal rejected the application. 6. This Court has heard the arguments advanced by the learned counsel for the appellant and the learned counsel for the workman. 7. The sum and substance of the contention of the appellant before the Single Bench as well as this Court is that while the IR Code was notified as above on the date-in-question but it was silent with regard to the pending proceedings before the Tribunals under the Act of 1947. The subject matter of the proceedings in the case pending before the Tribunal was an alleged wrongful termination of the workmen/respondent. 8. The learned counsel for the parties and particularly Mr. Banerjee for the appellant in his usual fairness has placed a decision of the Karnataka High Court in the case of Glastronix LLP and the President/General Secretary, Glastronix Karmika Sangha being the decision dated 18.02.2026 passed in W P 3784 of 2026. 3 9. The Karnataka High Court in the aforesaid Glastronix LLP decision (supra) has held that all pending proceedings before the Tribunals under the erstwhile Act of 1947 continue in view of Section 104 of IR Code of 2020. 10. This Court is in agreement with the submissions made by the counsel for the respondent and the decision of the Karnataka High Court in Glastronix LLP case (supra). 11. Indeed as his common to any new legislation replacing existing legislation, pending proceedings under the existing legislation are not extinguished creating a vacuum in judicial proceedings unless there is an appropriate transfer of proceedings under the new law to the fora created there under. Section 6 of the General Clauses Act is sufficiently clarificatory of the subject. 12. It is submitted that during the pendency of the instant appeal, proceedings before the Tribunal culminated in a award dated 2nd June, 2026. Since the appellant could not avail opportunity of complete cross-examination of the workman and/or witnesses cited on behalf of the workman, the proceedings before the Tribunal shall recommence from the stage of cross examination of the workman and the workman witness last examined by the appellant. The appellant shall 4 complete his cross examination and shall also be entitled to adduce evidence on its behalf before the Tribunal. 13. The Tribunal is requested to complete the proceedings as expeditiously as possible preferably within a period of three months from the date of communication of a copy of this order. Consequently the impugned award dated 2nd June, 2026 shall stand set aside and the proceedings shall recommence in terms of the direction made herein above. 14. The impugned judgment, to the extent that it imposed costs of Rs.30,000/- on the appellant, shall stand modified, vacating such order of costs. 15. FMA 644 of 2026 is disposed of. Consequently connected pending application being CAN 2 of 2026 is also disposed of. 16. There will be no order as to costs. 17. All parties shall act on the server copy of this order duly downloaded from the official website of this Court. (Rajasekhar Mantha, J.) (Rai Chattopadhyay, J.)