SWADESHI COTTON MILLS Vs. ASST LABIUR COMMR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) All the aforesaid matters were heard together as a common point of law stood involved in all these cases. The present order, accordingly, would cover all the aforesaid petitions.

(2.) The petitioners run an industry as a unit of National Textile Corporation (in short, the NTC) at Naini, Allahabad. It is the case of the petitioner that the NTC is an undertaking of the Government of India under the provisions of the Industrial Development Regulation Act and the Swadeshi Cotton Mills Co. Ltd. (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertaking) Act, 1986. The unit became sick and had submitted a reference under Section 15(1) of the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985 (in short, the SICA 1985), before the Board for the Industrial and Financial Re-structuring (in short, the BIFR). It was the further case of the petitioners that the reference was registered by BIFR by its order dated June 8, 1993 and the petitioner company had been declared sick under Section 3(1)(o) of the SICA, 1985. It was urged on behalf of the petitioners that being declared a sick unit, no recovery proceedings were to be initiated against the petitioner mill under Section 22 of the SICA, 1985.

(3.) There was, however a claim for payment of gratuity to certain retired employees of the petitioner and the Assistant Labour Commissioner (Central), being the Controlling Authority under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, proceeded against the petitioners for recovery of the unpaid amount of gratuity.