Order The petitioner is challenging the order of the appropriate Government whereby reference of dispute to the tribunal for adjudication has been refused on the ground that dispute was raised after 23 years. Admittedly the cause of action arose in 1977 when the management stopped taking work from the concerned workmen. After about 16 years the concerned workmen filed CWJC No. 1272 of 1993 (R) which was permitted to be withdrawn by a bench of the Patna High Court vide order dated 3-8-93 giving liberty to the concerned workman to raise industrial dispute. Even thereafter the industrial dispute was raised after about 5 years i.e. in 1998. The impugned order refusing to refer the dispute was passed by the Government on 18th October 2000 but this writ application has been filed challenging the said order in 2002. This shows that at every stage the concerned workmen delayed the matter and it really became stale claim in as much as 23 years have passed from the date when the cause of action arose to the concerned workmen. In such circumstances the order passed by the appropriate Government refusing to refer the dispute on the ground of it being stale claim cannot be said to be illegal or unjustified. It is well settled that if the claim itself has become stale then the government can refuse to refer it for adjudication. In this connection reference may be made to the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Nedengadi Bank Ltd vs. K.P. Madhavankutty and Ors ( 2000 (2) SCC 455 ). For the aforesaid reason I do not find any strong reasons to interfere with the order passed by the appropriate Government. No relief can be granted to the petitioner. This writ application is dismissed.