The Workmen Employed by Royal Arts vs The Presiding Officer, Labour Court and Others

Veeraswami, J.—This petition is to quash an award of the Labour Court, Coimbatore, declining to reinstate nine workmen.... They were all

employed along with others under Theatre Royal. With effect from 1st April 1961, the theatre was leased out by a registered document to the

Royal Arts. It is common ground-in fact it has been found by the Labour Court that on April 2, 1961, some of the workmen under the previous

management applied for employment under the new management, and nine out of them were taken into service. The workmen under Theatre

Royal claimed retrenchment compensation and obtained it from their employer. But the employees of the Royal Arts, through their Union, raised a

dispute as to the propriety of the non-employment of the nine workmen left out, which eventually was referred u/s 10(1)(c) of the Industrial

Disputes Act for adjudication by the Labour Court. The ground of the workmen was that the lease deed was only a make-believe document, and

there was no real closure. The Labour Court found, on the evidence before it, that this case was not made out. In its view, the registered lease was

a genuine transaction and there was, in fact, a closure. A further claim of the workmen was that, during the conciliation proceedings, it was agreed

that the nine remaining workmen would also be absorbed in service under the Royal Arts provided they applied for it, and that the new

management had refused to entertain them in service. On this point, the Labour Court was of the view that, since under the new management the

workmen affected were not employed, there could be no question of their reinstatement. On behalf of the management it would appear to have

been contended that there was no industrial dispute at all. But, finding that nine out of the workmen employed under the old management were

taken into service under the new management and through their Union they raised the dispute, the Labour Court rejected the management''s

contention.

This petition is by the Union to quash the order of the Labour Court. Mr. Dolia for the Petitioners contends that, when a volume of evidence

was let in before the Labour Court on the question whether there was a real closure, the Labour Court merely, on the ground that the lease deed

was a registered document, found that the lease was a genuine transaction, and that the failure on the part of the Tribunal to apply its mind to the

evidence for the workmen in arriving at a conclusion on that question vitiated the award. I am not satisfied that this contention is made out It is true

that, from the list of documents, it appears that a number of documents were put in evidence by the workmen. It is also true that the Labour Court

has not ""specifically referred to any of these documents. But that in itself, in my opinion, will not be conclusive. It may be seen the question whether

there was a real closure or not or whether the lease deed was a genuine document or not, is a question of fact, and a finding thereon cannot be

reviewed in certiorari. It cannot be assumed that, merely because the Labour Court failed to specifically refer to the evidence adduced for the

workmen, on that ground the factual finding is vitiated and can be reviewed in certiorari. The jurisdiction of this Court in certiorari is not appellate in

character. The finding of the Tribunal as to closure should, therefore, stand.

The next contention for the Petitioner is that, since the new management had agreed during conciliation proceedings to reinstate the workmen in

question, the Labour Court was wrong in proceeding on the assumption that the agreement could not furnish a basis for reinstatement. It is said that

the agreement was reached as a result of an industrial dispute and in the course of conciliation in respect of it, and that being the case, it would be

competent for the Labour Court to direct reinstatement on the basis of the agreement. But the simple answer to the question, in my opinion, would

be that there can he no question of reinstatement, unless it is established that the nine workmen were previously employed under the new

management. Since the finding that the closure was a genuine one is left undisputed, it follows the nine workmen had nothing to do with the new

management If that is so, the Labour Court was right in its view that no reinstatement could be ordered. I may also say that the Labour Court was

right in following the principle in The Management of Odeon Cinema Vs. The Workers of Sagar Talkies and Others, .

The petition is dismissed, but with no costs.