CHOLAMANDALAM SOFTWARE LTD Vs. PRESIDING OFFICER LABOUR COURT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition is directed against the common award dated 25.9.1992 made by the First Additional Labour Court, Madras in I.D.No.813 to 827/1989 by which the non-employment of respondents 3 to 17 by the petitioner was held to be not justified and the employer was directed to reinstate them with continuity of service and backwages.

(2.) THE case of the respondent-workmen before the Labour Court was that they had been employed by respondent No.2 Tiam House Services Limited and were later transferred to the petitioner company Cholamandalam Software Limited; that to the shock and surprise of the workmen, the management resorted to illegal lock out from 4.4.1989 and thereafter sent a letter captioned as cessation of employment letter, and that such cessation of employment was in fact, the termination of the services of the workmen in an i llegal manner. It was also alleged that persons junior to these workmen have been retained ignoring the principle of "last come first go" and that the termination was without reasonable cause.

(3.) THE Labour Court after considering the evidence adduced before it by the parties, rejected the contention putforth by the petitioner in oral argument that the petitioner was not a factory. It held taht the petitioner employed more than 100 persons at the time the service of the workmen were terminated and was therefore, required to comply with the provision of the Chapter V-B of the Industrial Disputes Act. As the prior permission of the Government had not been obtained as required under Section 25 (O) of the Act, the action of the petitioner in closing down the establishment was held to be unjustified. It was also observed by the Labout Court that the establishmen of the petitioner and that of the second respondent are inter connected, belonging as they did, to the same group of compainses.