TEXTILE LABOUR ASSOCIATION Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this application the Textile Labour Association has made a prayer for issuance of a direction for payment of salary to the workers for the period they have actually worked and allowed to work and have produced the goods out of the sale proceeds of the finished goods sold in pursuance of the directions of this Court. The petition is resisted by respondent No. 3-the State Bank of Saurashtra a secured creditor having first charge on the current assets of the company which include the finished goods.

(2.) The petitioner has relied on Article 21 of the Constitution of India and the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Rohtas Industries Ltd. (1987 - II-LLJ-1) and of this court in the case of Amruta Mills. On behalf of the respondents it is submitted that these Judgments cannot be applied and followed as precedents and the bank is having legal rights as secured creditor and those rights cannot be destroyed unless the law authorises the same and it is submitted that there is no law which requires to ignore the rights of the secured creditors

(3.) The workmen of the mill are about 2 700 and it is submitted that the mill came to be closed on February 2 1992 without permission as required by the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act and without paying even the wages for the months of November December 1991 January and February 1992 It is submitted that the wages for the period of November 1991 comes to Rs. 24 20 0 for the month of December 1991 it comes to Rs. 32 50 0 for the month of January 1992 Rs. 34 0 0 and for February 1992 it comes to Rs. 29 0 0 Thus in all Rs. 1 19 75 0 is the amount of outstanding wages for the period for which the workers have actually worked.