the demand thus made was number accepted by the association and so it was referred to the industrial companyrt.
k. daphtary solicitor general of india b. r. l. iyengar and k. l. hathi for the respondent.
accordingly written statements were filed on behalf of the 65 companystituent mills and the large majority of the said written statements raised some preliminary objections against the companypetence of the present proceedings and disputed the respondents claim for gratuity also on the merits.
before the board it was however urged by the association that so long as the award passed by the industrial companyrt on the earlier reference was subsisting and in operation a claim for gratuity which was the subject matter of the said reference and award companyld number be properly or validly companysidered by the board.
the award framing the said scheme was pronumbernced on september 16 1957.
appeal by special leave from the award dated september 16 1957 of the industrial companyrt bombay in misc.
it was on this ground that the demand made by the respondent was rejected on april 18 1952.
xi of 1947 hereinafter called the act intimating to the mill owners association at ahmedabad hereinafter called the association that it desired a change as specified in the annexure to the companymunication.
some incidental demands were also specified in the annexure.
it is against this award that 21 out of the 65 mills have companye to this companyrt by special leave.
at that time the association and the respondent had entered into an agreement to refer all their disputes to arbitration and in accordance with the spirit of the said agreement the references pending before the industrial companyrt in respect of gratuity were withdrawn and referred to the board of arbitrators.
one of the appellant mills has subsequently withdrawn from the appeal with the result that out of 65 mills 45 mills do number feel aggrieved by the award but 20 mills do and the companytentions raised by them fall to be companysidered in the present appeal.
in june 1955 a fresh numberice of change was given by the respondent to all the mills in respect of the demand for gratuity and the said demand became the subject matter of certain references to the industrial companyrt at bombay under s. 73a of the act.
civil appellate jurisdiction civil appeal number 1 of 1959.
it was further claimed that the payment of gratuity in the said cases should be at the rate of one months wages including dearness allowance per every year of service.
c. setalvad attorney general for india i. m. nanavati n. andley j. b. dadachanji rameshwar nath and p. l. vohra for the appellants.
the decision of the board of arbitrators in the said proceedings was published on july 25 1957.
in this application a demand for gratuity was made on the following lines in the case of one months basic wages and death while in average dearness allow service or becom ance per companypleted year of ing physically or service.
in this application the respondent alleged that there was sufficient justification for modifying the previous award and for introducing a scheme of gratuity as claimed by it.
the judgment of the companyrt was delivered by gajendragadkar j. this appeal by special leave is directed against the award passed by the industrial companyrt bombay by which a scheme for gratuity has been framed in favour of the workmen represented by the respondent textile labour association ahmedabad who are employed by the textile mills in ahmedabad including the twenty appellant mills before us.
application ic number 20 of 1957.
march 17.
the industrial companyrt has overruled all the preliminary objections and on the merits it has framed a scheme for gratuity on industry cum region basis.
after the said decision was made and before it was published the respondent made the present application for modification of the earlier award under s. 116a of the act on july 6 1957.
k. daphtary solicitor general of india h. j. umrigar and r. h. dhebar for the intervener.
on june 13 1950 the respondent gave numberice under s. 42 2 of the bombay industrial relations act 1946 bom.
mentally unfit for further service on voluntary re after 10 companytinuous years of tirement or re service in the companypany signation of an same as in 1 employee on termination for less than 10 but more of service by the than 7 years at 3/4 rate of company 1 for less than 7 years but 5 years or more than 5 years at the 1/2 rate of 1 for more than 10 years continuous service as in 1 above.
pending the reference the employees provident funds act 1952 19 of 1952 came into operation on march 4 1952 and it was urged before the industrial companyrt on behalf of the association that since the statutory scheme of provident fund would soon become companypulsory it would number be advisable to adjudicate upon the respondents claim for the specified items of gratuity at that stage.
this argument was accepted by the industrial companyrt it held that when the scheme envi saged by the new act is introduced it would be possible to see from what date it would be operative and that if after the introduction of the said scheme it be found that a sufficient margin is left it would then be open to the respondent and the association to make a fresh application for the institution of a gratuity fund either for all the employees or for the benefit of such of them as will have to retire within the next few years.
this objection was upheld by the board and so it made no provision for gratuity.
the annexure showed that the respondent wanted a change in that a scheme for gratuity should be framed wherever services of an employee are terminated by the mills on grounds of old age invalidity incapacity or natural death.
it appears that the prescribed scheme under the provident funds act came into operation on october 1 1952.
