SRINIWAS FATEHPURIA PRIVATE LTD Vs. N C CHATTERJEE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal against an order of Ray, J., dated January 5, 1961, whereby the application was dismissed with costs.

(2.) The facts in this case are shortly as follows: The appellant is a Company which carries on the business of hiring certain barges and boats which are let out on a contract basis to manjhis, who in their turn appoint dandis under them. The appellant Company dismissed four workmen who were all manjhis. An industrial dispute arose between the said Company and the four workmen, which was referred by the Government of West Bengal for industrial adjudication under Sections 7 and 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, before the First Labour Court. The Issue that was referred was as follows :

(3.) In their written statement before the Tribunal, the Company alleged that these 4 manjhis were really not workmen at all, but were mere contractors, and the Company did not exercise any control over them. It was stated that the Company lost confidence in these contractors and terminated their contracts. The second point taken was that in any event, the dispute between these 4 workmen and the Company was an individual dispute, and did not amount to an industrial dispute. Consequently the validity of the Order of Reference was challenged.