17A. Commencement of the award.—
(1) An award (including an arbitration award) shall become
enforceable on the expiry of thirty days from the date of its publication under section 17:
Provided that —
(a) if the appropriate Government is of opinion, in any case where the award has been given by a
Labour Court or Tribunal in relation to an industrial dispute to which it is a party; or
(b) if the Central Government is of opinion, in any case where the award has been given by a
National Tribunal,
that it will be inexpedient on public grounds affecting national economy or social justice to give effect to
the whole or any part of the award, the appropriate Government, or as the case may be, the Central
Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare that the award shall not become
enforceable on the expiry of the said period of thirty days.
(2) Where any declaration has been made in relation to an award under the proviso to sub-section
(1),
the appropriate Government or the Central Government may, within ninety days from the date of
publication of the award under section 17, make an order rejecting or modifying the award, and shall, on
the first available opportunity, lay the award together with a copy of the order before the Legislature of
the State, if the order has been made by a State Government, or before Parliament, if the order has been
made by the Central Government.
(3) Where any award as rejected or modified by an order made under sub-section
(2) is laid before the
Legislature of a State or before Parliament, such award shall become enforceable on the expiry of fifteen
days from the date on which it is so laid; and where no order under sub-section
(2) is made in pursuance
of a declaration under the proviso to sub-section
(1), the award shall become enforceable on the expiry of
the period of ninety days referred to in sub-section
(2).
(4) Subject to the provisions of sub-section
(1) and sub-section
(3) regarding the enforceability of an
award, the award shall come into operation with effect from such date as may be specified therein, but
where no date is so specified, it shall come into operation on the date when the award becomes
enforceable under sub-section
(1) or sub- section
(3), as the case may be.]
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