INDIAN HUME PIPE COMPANY LIMITED Vs. THEIR WORKMEN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by special leave against an award dated Tune 30, 1967 of the Third Industrial Tribunal, West Bengal, in Case No. VIII-87 of 1965 finding that the retrenchment of 12 workmen and the closure of the factory of the appellant were both illegal and unjustified. The Tribunal accordingly directed that the workers whose services had been purported to be terminated on the ground of closure must be deemed to be still in service of the company and they should receive all their wages and allowances with effect from the date when their services were terminated.

(2.) The two issues which were referred by the order of the Government of West Bengal dated April 23, 1965 under S. 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act between the appellant Company and their workmen were:

(3.) The facts about which there is no dispute are as follows. The appellant is a big engineering concern with its head office at Bombay and factories and establishments numbering about sixty spread all over India and Ceylon. In West Bengal it had two factories, one at Barakar and the other at Konnagore near Calcutta. The distance between the two factories is about 140 miles. The Barakar factory had about 85 workmen daily-rated as well as monthly-rated. The factory was situated quite close to Grand Trunk road. The whole area of the factory and its surroundings including the Grand Trunk road was coal-bearing land from which coal had been extracted towards the end of the nineteenth century or the beginning of the twentieth century. On December 18, 1962 there was a subsidence of the earth towards the north of the Grand Trunk road passing through Barakar town affecting a surface area of about 100' X 60'. This is corroborated by a letter of the Inspecting Officer Circle III of the Coal Board, Asansol to the Barakar Electric Supply Co. Ltd., a copy whereof was sent to the appellant. This letter shows that the subsidence had affected a part of the premises of the factory of the appellant and appeared to have a trend of extending towards the occupied quarters of the appellant's factory. Simultaneously, there was a declaration of the Mines Department of India that Barakar town near Asansol had been declared unsafe. The declaration further shows that this was the second time when the town had been so declared unsafe and according to the Mines Department this was due to the fact that the area involved was above a 70 year old abandoned colliery. It appears that there was another subsidence in the same area on May 4, 1963 as a result whereof the approach road to the appellant's factory was badly damaged. There was also damage to a portion of the manager's quarters near the factory gate. By letter dated May 15, 1963 addressed to the Chief Inspector of Mines, Government of India, the appellant wanted the site to be inspected for the purpose of finding out whether there was any chance of further subsidence. That the subsidences were real was not questioned before the Industrial Tribunal nor is there any controversy regarding the same before us. This has been referred to in many official correspondence which have been exhibited in this case:On July 18, 1963 there was a letter from the office of the Chief Inspector of Mines to the appellant that its factory was situate on a goaf made in the last part of the nineteenth century and was therefore dangerous for habitation. It was also mentioned in that letter that the factory having been declared unstable, restarting of the factory on that site could not be recommended. On September 12, 1963 the head office of the appellant at Bombay wrote to its office at Barakar that it was considering closing down of the above factory as a precautionary safety measure and that it was not thinking of shifting the factory but intended to close it completely. The last portion of the letter seems to have been necessitated by enquiries started by the factory at Barakar regarding the availability of a suitable site not very far away to which the factory could be shifted. It appears that inspection had been made of a plot at Rajbandh but the idea of shifting the factory to that site had to be given up because of the unavailability of high tension electric line. The intention to close down the factory is also apparent from letters written by it to several authorities including the Controller of Purchase and Stores, Durgapur Steel Plant, Burdwan dated November 12, 1963 and to the Executive Engineer, Ganga Barrage Investigation Division, Berhampore dated July 14, 1964 showing that in view of the intended closure of the factory it would not be in a position to execute the orders from the Barakar factory.