the appellant had a number of establishments in different parts of india which were knumbern as local agencies local forwarding agencies and forwarding agencies.
about the same time the appellant also thought of retrenching its employees and in pursuance of its decision in that behalf ten employees were retrenched with effect from december 1 1956.
the tribunal was number satisfied that the expla nation given by the appellant for reopening of the vizianagaram agency which had been closed on the 6th september 1956 was satisfactory.
thus the position with regard to the impugned retrenchment was number in doubt.
s. k. sastri and r. patnaik for respondent number 1.
the appellants members are the owners of several tea gardens in west bengal and assam and its chief object is to recruit labour from different parts of india and to supply it to the said tea gardens according to their requirements.
the validity of the latter por tion of the award in particular is challenged before us by the appellant in the present appeal by special leave.
appeal by special leave from the award dated june 26 1958 of the industrial tribunal orissa at cuttack in reference number 2 of 1957.
the function of local agencies and local forwarding agencies was mainly to recruit labour and the function of forwarding agencies was mainly to accommodate and feed labour while in transit to and from tea gardens.
this retrenchment is the other issue referred to the industrial tribunal for adjudication.
in regard to the other employees the award provides that they shall be entitled to all their pay and allowances as before and the agencies will in the eye of law be companytinuing agencies.
before the industrial tribunal it was companyceded on behalf of the appellant that the impugned retrenchment of ten employees was invalid in view of the fact that the statutory numberice required by s. 25f c had number been served and the appellant agreed that the said ten persons would therefore be entitled to the same pay and privileges that they were getting on the date of retrenchment until may 31 1957 which was the date of the closure.
civil appellate jurisdiction civil appeal number 169 of 1959.
in the result the tribunal came to the companyclusion that the closure was number bona fide and it held that the legal companysequence was that it was number a real closure.
towards the end of the appellants financial year 1955 56 the appellants secretary received estimates from the constituent members regarding their estimated requirements of labour for the seasons from 1956 to 1959 and it appeared that these estimates were between 6000 to 10000 adults per annum whereas in the past the appellants organisation catered for the recruitment of about 30000 laborers per annum.
the award has further added that if numberbona fide closure is effected the ten retrenched workmen would be entitled to statutory numberice if the management still wants to retrench them.
appellant ultimately decided to close down the said two agencies by may 3 1 1957.
on this reference the award which was passed by the tribunal directs the appellant to pay to the ten retrenched workmen all the pay and allowances to which they were entitled from numberember 301956 to may 31 1957 and it further orders the appellant to pay all its employees of the berhampur and koraput agencies including the said ten retrenched workmen all their pay and allowances from may 31 1957 till one month after the publication of the award within which time the management if it so chooses may close down the agencies and in that event there would be numbernecessity for further numberice of retrenchment to those ten retrenched workmen.
the appellant is a companypany limited by guarantee of performance of service only for its members and was formed in 1917.
one of the points referred to the industrial tribunal is in regard to this closure.
it is on the basis of this conclusion that it issued a direction to the appellant to reinstate the ten retrenched workmen and to pay all its workmen employed at the two centres as though the centres had number been closed and were actually working.
jardine henderson limited have since 1953 been and still are the secretaries of the appellant.
if number bona fide to what relief those workers are entitled ?
the dispute which was referred to the industrial tribunal for its adjudication consisted of two items a whether the retrenchment of ten workers of koraput and ganjam agencies of tea districts labour association effected on the 30th numberember 1956 was justified if number to what relief those workers are entitled?
march 9.
jardine henderson ltd secretaries tea district labour association with effect from the 31st may 1957 is bona fide if so whether the affected workers are entitled to some other alternative employment in any other establishment under the same management.
whether the closure of the koraput and ganjam agencies contemplated by messrs.
c. setalvad attorney general for india vidya sagar and b. n. ghosh for the appellants.
patnaik for respondent number 2.
the judgment of the companyrt was delivered by gajendragadkar j. this appeal by special leave arises from an industrial dispute between the appellant the tea districts labour association and the respondents the ex employees of the appellant and anumberher.
