ANDHERI MAROL KURLA BUS SERVICE& ANOTHER vs THE STATE OF BOMBAY

The Supreme Court held that under Section 12(6) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, conciliation proceedings do not terminate automatically after 14 days but continue until the report is received by the appropriate government. The Court clarified that the commencement and termination of conciliation proceedings are governed by Section 20, not Section 12(6). Consequently, the dismissal of a workman during the pendency of these proceedings was deemed unlawful, affirming the conviction under Section 31(1) read with Section 33(1) of the Act.