GENERAL MANAGER KSRTC Vs. SUNDAR RAJ

JUDGEMENT

(1.) All these Writ Appeals are taken by the General Manager of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation, Trivandrum from the judgment disposing of a batch of Original Petitions. The question that arose for consideration was whether the petitioners in the Original Petitions who were employed off and on in the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation, hereinafter referred to as the 'Corporation', were entitled to retrenchment compensation as provided in S.25F of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, for short, the Act. The question had to be resolved in the light of the definition of "continuous service" in S.25B of the Act and from the construction of S.25B(2)(a). The learned Judge who heard the Original Petitions came to the conclusion that if the workmen had worked for 240 days they should be deemed to have been in "continuous service" for a period of one year and if that be so, even though the workmen had not been employed during a spread out period of 12 calendar months the workmen should be held t have been in continuous service for one year.

(2.) The Original Petitions dealt with by the learned Judge may be divided into four groups. The first group consists of cases in which the petitioners approached this Court before receipt of notices of termination of services and obtained orders of stay of termination of services. The Writ Appeals arising from the judgment disposing of those petitions are Nos. 161, 164, 171, 176, 180, 185, 187 and 188 of 1976.

(3.) The second group consists of cases where termination notices had been served on the workmen and where such notices have been stayed by this Court. The Writ Appeals relating to such petitions are Nos. 159, 163, 168, 172, 173, 178, 181, 182, 183 and 189 of 1976.