BURN AND COMPANY LIMITED Vs. WORKMAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal by special leave from an award of the labour court, Ranchi in a reference under Sec. 10(1)(c) of the Industrial Disputes Act. The dispute which was referred was :

(2.) THE facts shortly are as follows. The petitioner was an employee of Messrs. Refractory and Ceramic Works, Culfarbari under the management of Burn and Company. He was dismissed on February 8, 1966. He joined his employment on July 5, 1965. He was charged with certain alleged acts of misdemeanour under the works standing standing orders for incidents which had taken place on 16th and 17th November 1965. The charge sheet was issued to him on 13th November 1965. Put shortly, the charges against him were :-

(3.) ACCORDING to the management, on November 17, 1965, another mazdoor by the name of Hari was asked to bring tea from the canteen for Shri Mukherjee and such work, among others, used to be done by the mazdoors regularly. Prabhunath left his job and came over to Hari to obstruct him from going to bring tea. He was asked as to why he had left his job and was interfering with another's job. Prabhunath however persisted in asking Hari not to go to the canteen.Prabhunath had himself recorded a complaint against Shri Mukherjee. According to him, on 6th November he had protested that four men could not be asked to do the work of six and thereupon he was threatened that if the work was not completed a charge sheet would be issued to him. As regards the incident of the 17th, Prabhunath's version was entirely different from Mukherjee's. According to Prabhunath, Mukherjee had, without any cause, pushed him by the neck and asked him to get out when he was sorting out knives in front of the oil godown.