# MANAGEMENT OF HINDUSTAN STEEL LTD v. THE WORKMEN & ORS

- **Citation:** [1973] 3 S.C.R. 303
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1973-01-12
- **Bench:** A. Alagiriswami, I. D. Dua, C. A. Vaidialingam
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/management-of-hindustan-steel-ltd-v-the-workmen-ors-5816
- **Pages:** 10

## Headnote

Industrial Disputes Act 1947 Ss. 25 F(b) and 25 FFF-Notice of
retrenchment-In case of closure of an undertaking s. 25FFF appue.
and not s. 25F(b)-Undertaking, what is-Closure of part of business
may amount to closure of undertaking within meaning of .9. :!SFFf"->.
Plea c.s to defect in noUce must be specific and precise.
The· Hindusto:n Steel Ltd. undertook in 1960 a project called
the
Ranchi Housing Project. The project was completed in
1966. After
the compktion of the residuary work the services of certain employees
including N were terminated. 'The relevant notice said that N
could
receive his retrenchment compensation from the cashier within two days
from the date of termination of his employment subject to the production by him of. no demand certificates from the concerned branches
mentioned in the notice. N pleaded before
the Industrlal Tribunal
inter alia that the notic,e did not comply with the terms of s. 25F(b)
of the Industrial Disputes Act 1947, because the compeinsation was not
paid immediately at the time of effecting the retrenchment. The infirmity in the notice being apparent on its face, in the
opinion
of the
Tribunal, N was held entitled to be reinstated end also to his wages
and other dues. The Tribunal further held that this plea though not
expressly taken by N 'in his written statement was
covered
by
the
general grounds taken therein. Appeal against
the
award
of
the.
Tribun9} was filed by the Management of Hindustan Steel
Ltd.,
by
special leave granted by this Court. It was contended Oill behalf ot
the appellant that the Section applicable to the case was not 25F(b)
but 25FFF(2)· and the Tribunal erred in basing the
award
on
the
fofn1er section.
HELD : (i) In the case of Harl Prasad Shiv Shankar Shukla,
it
was held by this Court that s. 25F was not intended by the leg!slature
to be applicable to bona fide closure Of business. In
1957 s. 25FFF
was inserted in order to give b,enefit of s. 25F
to
the
retrenched
workmen where an undertaking is closed down for "any reason whatso~
ever". According to sub-8.(2) of s. 25FFF it is quite clear
that in
case of closure of the categories of undertrutings as mentioned therei,n,
no workman employed In those undertakings can claim
compensation
under cl. (b) of s. 25F. [310C-E)
Harl Prasad Shiv Shankar Shukla v. A. D. Divekar, (1957) S.C.R.
121, referred to.
(ii) The word undertaking as used in s. 25FFF seems to have been
used in its ordinary sense connoting thereby any w<>rk, enterprise, proJect or business undertaking. It is not intended to cover the
tllltire
industry or business of the employer. Even closure or stoppage
of
a part of the business or activities of the employer would seem jn law
to be covered by this sub-section. The question has t<> be decided on
the facts of each case. In the present case the Ranchi Housing Project
was clearly a distinct venture undertaken by the 9ppellant and it had
a distinct beginning and an end. The Tribunal rightly held that
QD
the completion of the project the undertaking was cl~d down.
[310G-311BJ
304
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1973] 3 S.C.R.
Workmen of the Indian Leaf Tobacco Development Co.
Ltd.
v.
Management, [1969] 2 S.C.R. 282 and Parry & Co. Ltd. v. P. C. Lal,
[1969] 2 S.C.R. 976. referred to.
(iii) Under s. 25FFF(l) which creates ~ statutory fiction. •.11 that
N \\'as entitled to was notice and compensation in accordance with the
provisions of s. 25F as if he had been retrenched.
The retrenchment
notice given to him quite clearly complied with the requirement. [311E·Fl
(iv} The Tribunal was in error in holding the general ground
irl
the written statement to cover the specific plea of
infirmity
of . the
notice because of its being conditional.
The plea 'Should
have
been
specific and precise so as to ""1able the appellant to meet it.
[311F-Gl

## Text

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303
MANAGEMENT OF HINDUSTAN STEEL LTD.
v.
THE WORKMEN & ORS.
January 12, 1973
[A. ALAGIRISWAMI, I. D. DUA AND C. A. VAIDIALINGAM, JJ.]
Industrial Disputes Act 1947 Ss. 25 F(b) and 25 FFF-Notice of
retrenchment-In case of closure of an undertaking s. 25FFF appue.
and not s. 25F(b)-Undertaking, what is-Closure of part of business
may amount to closure of undertaking within meaning of .9. :!SFFf"->.
Plea c.s to defect in noUce must be specific and precise.
The· Hindusto:n Steel Ltd. undertook in 1960 a project called
the
Ranchi Housing Project. The project was completed in
1966. After
the compktion of the residuary work the services of certain employees
including N were terminated. 'The relevant notice said that N
could
receive his retrenchment compensation from the cashier within two days
from the date of termination of his employment subject to the production by him of. no demand certificates from the concerned branches
mentioned in the notice. N pleaded before
the Industrlal Tribunal
inter alia that the notic,e did not comply with the terms of s. 25F(b)
of the Industrial Disputes Act 1947, because the compeinsation was not
paid immediately at the time of effecting the retrenchment. The infirmity in the notice being apparent on its face, in the
opinion
of the
Tribunal, N was held entitled to be reinstated end also to his wages
and other dues. The Tribunal further held that this plea though not
expressly taken by N 'in his written statement was
covered
by
the
general grounds taken therein. Appeal against
the
award
of
the.
Tribun9} was filed by the Management of Hindustan Steel
Ltd.,
by
special leave granted by this Court. It was contended Oill behalf ot
the appellant that the Section applicable to the case was not 25F(b)
but 25FFF(2)· and the Tribunal erred in basing the
award
on
the
fofn1er section.
HELD : (i) In the case of Harl Prasad Shiv Shankar Shukla,
it
was held by this Court that s. 25F was not intended by the leg!slature
to be applicable to bona fide closure Of business. In
1957 s. 25FFF
was inserted in order to give b,enefit of s. 25F
to
the
retrenched
workmen where an undertaking is closed down for "any reason whatso~
ever". According to sub-8.(2) of s. 25FFF it is quite clear
that in
case of closure of the categories of undertrutings as mentioned therei,n,
no workman employed In those undertakings can claim
compensation
under cl. (b) of s. 25F. [310C-E)
Harl Prasad Shiv Shankar Shukla v. A. D. Divekar, (1957) S.C.R.
121, referred to.
(ii) The word undertaking as used in s. 25FFF seems to have been
used in its ordinary sense connoting thereby any w<>rk, enterprise, proJect or business undertaking. It is not intended to cover the
tllltire
industry or business of the employer. Even closure or stoppage
of
a part of the business or activities of the employer would seem jn law
to be covered by this sub-section. The question has t<> be decided on
the facts of each case. In the present case the Ranchi Housing Project
was clearly a distinct venture undertaken by the 9ppellant and it had
a distinct beginning and an end. The Tribunal rightly held that
QD
the completion of the project the undertaking was cl~d down.
[310G-311BJ
304
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1973] 3 S.C.R.
Workmen of the Indian Leaf Tobacco Development Co.
Ltd.
v.
Management, [1969] 2 S.C.R. 282 and Parry & Co. Ltd. v. P. C. Lal,
[1969] 2 S.C.R. 976. referred to.
(iii) Under s. 25FFF(l) which creates ~ statutory fiction. •.11 that
N \\'as entitled to was notice and compensation in accordance with the
provisions of s. 25F as if he had been retrenched.
The retrenchment
notice given to him quite clearly complied with the requirement. [311E·Fl
(iv} The Tribunal was in error in holding the general ground
irl
the written statement to cover the specific plea of
infirmity
of . the
notice because of its being conditional.
The plea 'Should
have
been
specific and precise so as to ""1able the appellant to meet it.
[311F-Gl
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 175 of
B
1971.
c
Appeal by special leave from the Award dated July 20, 1970
oi the Industrial Tribunal, Bihar. Patna in-Reference No. 52
of 1969 published in the Bihar Gazette dated 28-10-1970.
M. C. Setalvad, Santosh Chatterjee and G. S. Chatterjee, for
the appellant.
o
Madan Mohan and Ram Das Chadha, for respondents Nos. 1
and 2.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
DuA, J.-The Management of Hindustan Steel Ltd., Ranchi
challenges in this appeal by special leave the award made by the
Industrial Tribunal, Bihar, Patna dated July 29, 1970 on a reference of the following industrial dispute between the management and their workmen represented by Hindustan Steel Ltd.
Employees' Union, Ranchi :
"Whether the retrenchment oi Shri Venkatesan, ExOverseer, Housing
Colony Construction Sche)lle of
Hindustan Steel Ltd., Ranchi is proper and justified ?
If not, what relief is he entitled to ?"
According to the Written statement filed by the Man·agement
Shri R. Venkatesan Naidu, the workman concerned (hereinafter
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to be referred as Shri Naidu) was recruited to the work-charged
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establishment of the Ranchi Housing Project undertaken in 1960
on a consolidated salary of Rs. 250/- p.m. He was recruited in
March, 1960 and it was made clear to him tha!I the post was
purely temporary subject to tennination with or without notice.
Shri Naidu joined duty on March 15, 1960 after accepting those
condi?ons. He later applied for the post of Overseer in the same . H
establishment oi the Ranchi Housing Project in response to an
advertisement and an offer for his appointment as an Overseer
'
was made to him on June 15, 1960,
clearly stating that his
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MANAGEMENT HINDUSTAN STEEL v. WORKMEri (Dua, J.) 305
appointment would continue upto Maroh 31, 1961 though it
would be extended in case his services were to be required beyond tltat date.
This appointment was also stated to be purely
temporary terminable at any time without assigning any reason
and without giving any notice.
Shri Naidu assumed charge of
the post of Overseer on June 20, 1960. The construction and
the connecled residuary work rela'ting to the Ranchi Housing
Project were ·over by the end of the year 1966 and it was decided
to wind up this project and retrench 13 workmen employed in
four categories with effect from December 31, 1966 after giving
notices and paying compensation to the· workmen
concerned.
The services of three executives and two Overseers ( Shri Naidu
and· Shri Verghese) were retained for some time in
order to
finalise accounts and to carry on some residuary work in connection with the said project. The management tried to secure
employment to those five persons in the sister units of the Hindustan Steel Ltd., or sister public under takings like Bokaro Steel
Ltd., but without success.
Shri Naidu, it is
state<l.. did not
possess any basic qualifications laid down by Bokaro !Steel Ltd.
1he tenure of the posts held by these five persons was extended
upto June 30, 1968. The departmental committee consisting of
senior officers considered their cases for absorption in suitable
posts in the Central Engineering and Design Bureau.
As Shri
Naidu had read upto Class IX only and did not pos.sess any technical qualification he could not be taken in any concern. It
was in these circumstances that according to the
management
Shri Naidu's services were retrenched with effect from the afternoon of June 22; 1963. The financial concurrence for the continuance of the Ranchi Housing Project (Residuary work)
also
expired on the same date with the result that it was not possil:lle
any longer to retain Shri Naidu's services and his retrenchment
was necessary. It was denied that big bosses of Hindustan Steel
Ltd., did not like Shri Naidu because he had refused to oblige
them whenever they made dishonest requests.
Shri Naidu's retrenchment was accordingly stated to be quite proper, justified
and legal and the action taken qnite fair and bona fide.
There
was thus no question of any unfair labour practice or victimisation of Shri Naidu.
The case on behalf of the workmen was represented biY the
General Secrefarv of the Union. It was pleaded on behalf of the
workmen that prior to joining ~industan Steel Ltd., Shri Naidu
had been serving as a construction foreman in the Damodar
Valley Corporation Ud., during the period 1950 to 1957 and
that on Februarv 18, 1960 he applied to the Hindustan· Steel
Ltd.. tor. a technical post mentioning his ciualifications for. the
post apphed for. He was interviewed and after testing his merits
for the job of Works Supervisor he was offered the same on
306
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1973] 3 s.c.R.
March 10, 1960. Later he was offered the job of an Overseer and
he joined that post on May 20, 1960. He worked efficiently to
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the satisfaction of all concerned but was served with a charge.
sheet on June 10, 1964 on the ground that there was some short·
age of steel rods. After an enquiry he was found guilty and on
the recommendation.s of the enquiry committee he was dismissed
with effect from January 13, 1965. Shri Naidu approached the
Presiding Officer, Labour Court, Ranchi under s.
25 Of the
B
Bihar Shops and Establishments Act, 1963 complaining 11gainst
his dismissal and the Presiding Officer on April 13, 1966 held
tho order of dismissal as unjustified and illegal and ordered his
reinstatement.
He reaumed his duties on receipt ol the office
order on 7 /10 May, 1966. But somo big bosses of the m11DagC'-
ment were not happy on account of his reinstatement with the c
result that he was again charge-sheeted on May 12, 1966 on the
ground that he had falsely stated that he had passed the Senior
cambridge Examination.
Shri Naidu filed a civil suit 1or a
declaration that the proceedlnp laltfated by tho employer were
malll fide. But during the pcndcncy of that suit he was served
with a retrenchment order dated JlllDe 29, 1968 purporting to 1*'
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under s. 25F of the Industrial Disputes Act, 194 7 (hereinafter
called the Act) which, according to Shri Naidu was malll fide and
-unjustified.
According to the Tribunal there was no controversy about
the following facts :
Shri Naidu had filed an application Ex. 1 on February 18,
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1960 with the Construction Engineer of the Hindustan Steel Dtd.,
for a technical post and he had mentioned therein that he had
studied upto Senior Cambridge standard but had served for a
period of 23 years in other concerns. On March 10, . 1960 he
was offered the post of Works Supervisor on a consolidated salary
of Rs. 250/ • p.m. in the work-charged ~blishm.ent of the Ranchi
F
Housing Project but it was made clear to him that the post was
purely temporary 3illd subject to . tenillnation with or without'
notice.
In respo!lse to this offer Shri Naidu submitted. joining
report on March 15, .1960. On April 18, 1960 Shri Naidu
applied for the post of an Overseer and mentionod in the column
meant for the particulars of the examination passed "Cambridge
Senior". By office order dated 14/15 JIJlle, 1960 he was offered
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the tcm.P.<>rary post Of Overseer on the terms and conditions men·
tioncd in that order. According_ to term S his appointment waS
upto March 31, 1961 but it could be extcn<led beyond that date
in case the company so desired. It was also mentioned that his
appointment would 1*' purely temporary terminllblc. at any tiJne
without any reason and without giving any notice. He was 8$ked
to report for duty as soon as possible but not later than. June 30,
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MANAGEMENT HINDUSTAN STEEL v. WORKMEN (Dua, 1.) 307
1960. He joined as Overseer within the scheduled time.
The
work o.f construction undertaken by '!he R8111chi Housing Project
came to a clo8e by the end of the year 1966 with the result that
13 workmen were retrenched though Naidu was allowed to continue as an Overseer for finishing some residual work.
Thereafter; according ito the management the residual w9rk
was completed and the Ranchi Housing Project wound up in 1968.
Shri Naidu having been rendered surplus notice Ex.
7 for his
retrenchment was given because it was not possible to offer him
any alternative employment in any other unit. His services were
retrenched with effect from June 29, 1968.
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According to the award the Ranchi Housing Project and the
Maintenance Division of the Hindustan Steel Ltd., were separate
departments the Housing Project being' a temporary project
whereas the mainten811lce division was to be maintained throughout.
Both these departments were, however, controlled by the
Central Engineering & Division Bureau. The award further held
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that the management had decided to wind up the establishment
of Ranchi Housing Project with effect from March 31, 1~68 and
that serious attempts were made to absorb Shri Naidu but without
success. The Ranchi Housing Project having been wound up
the Management was fully justified in retrenching Shri Naidu.
The management was also held to have made genuine and bona
fide efforts to absorb Shri. Naidu in other units but it did not
succeed in its attempt. The plea of mala fides on the part of
the. management in retrenching Shri Naidu was also repelled by
the Tribunal. It was also observed that he had failed to substantiate that there was any unfair labour practice or victimisation.
The further point raised on behalf of Shri Naidu that the principle of "first come last go" or "last come first go" was not adhered
to was also not accepted bti' the Tribunal. Shri Naidu's appointment being temporary terminable by the Company at any time
without assigning any reason and without giving any notice was .
held to be an agreement contrary to the said principle 81lld the
provisions of s. 258 of the Act were held inapplicable. The
submission on behalf of the management that it was for them to
G decide from time to time the strength of labour required for that
purpose was accepted and it was observed that the panduct of
the management in closing one department and dividing its work
amon~t the other employees could not be reasonably characterised as IDlprc;iper or as amounting to an unfair labour · practice.
The last point urged on behalf Of Shri Naidu was that the notice
of retrenchment was not 1n accordance with the provisions of s.
25F ~f ~e A~t bec::use th~ retrencbm~nt compensation Wl!S to
~e paid llllllled1ately at the time of effecting the retrenchment and
H
rt could not be deferred.
According to the notice Shri Naidu
308
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1973] 3 S.C.R.
was merely informed that he could receive the retrenchment
compensation from
the cashier within two d~ys from the date
of terminati'ln of his employment and that 'this would also be
subject to tJ,e production by him of no demand certificates from
the concerned branches which were mentioned in the notice, .Ex.
7.
This plea prevailed with the Tribunal. After referring to
certain decisions of this Court the Tribunal held that the notice
was defective on the face of it because it did not comply with
cl. (b) of s. 25F of the Act. The offer in the notice to pay the
retrenchment compensation on the production of no demand certificate from the concerned branches according to the Tribunal
clearly shows that the management did not intend to pay retrenchment compensation at the time of retrenchment. The objection
on 1*lhalf of the management that this defect in the notice was
not pleaded in the written statement filed on behalf of the work-.
man was rejected with the observation that in para 13 of the
written statement it was averred that the grounds given in the
retrenchment notice were all false and cooked up and in para
15 of the written statement it was pleaded that the retrenchment
of the employee was mala fide, unjustified and against law. The
infirmity in the notice being apparent on its face, in the opinion
of the Tribunal, Shri Naidu was entitled to be reinstated and also
to his wages and other dues. On tJtis reasoning the impugned
award was made in favour of Shri Naidu.
Before us Shri Setalvad, the learned counsel for the appellant,
the Management of Hindustan Steel Ltd., submitted tbat this case
is really governed bys. 25FFF of the Act ands. 25F(b) is inapplicable. It was pointed out that cl. (b) of s. 25F which has been
held by the award to have been violated biy the appellant in the
present case is not attracted to 'the facts. The counsel questioned
the legality of the view taken by the Tribunal and submitted that s.
25FFF ( 2) is the real provision which ·applies to the facts ol the
present case.
The short question thus requiring determination is whether s.
25F(b) ors. 25FFF(2) of the Act is attracted to the facts of this
case. In order to appreciate the true scheme and scope of these
sections it would be helpful to reproduce them :
"25F. Conditions precedent to retrenchment of
workmen:
No workman in any industry who has been in continuous service for not less than one year under an employer shall be retrenched by that employer until-
( a) the workman has been given one month's notke
in writing indicating the reasons for retrenchment
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MANAGEMENT HINDUSTAN STEEL v. WORKMEN (Dua, J.) 309
(b)
and the penod of notice has expired, or the workman has been paid in lieu of such notice, wages
for the period of the notice :
Provided that no such notice shall ~ necessary if the retrenchment is under an agreement
specifies a date for the termination of service;
the workman has been paid, at the time of .retrenchment compensation which shall be equivalent to fifteen days' average pay for every completed year of continuous
service or any part
thereof in excess of six months; and
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( c) notice in the prescribed manner is served on the
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appropriate Government or such
authority as
may be specified by the appropriate Government
by notification in the Official Gazette."
"25FFF. Compensation to workmen in case of closing down of undertakings :
( 1) Where an undertaking is closed down for any
reason whatsoever, every workman who has been in continuous service for not less than one year in that ·undertaking immediately before such closure shall, subject to
the provisions of sub-section (2), be entitled to notice
and compensalion in accordance with the provisions of
section 25F, as if the workman had been retrenched :
Provided that where the undertaking is closed down
on account of unavoidable circumstances beyond the
control of the employer, the compensation to be paid to
the workman under clause (b) of section 25F shall not
exceed his average pay for three months.
Explanation .-An undertaking which is closed down
by reason merely of financial difficulties (including financial losses) or accumulation oi undisposed of stocks or
the expiry of the period of the lease or the licence
granted to it where the period of the lease of the licence
expires on or after the first day of April, 1967 shall
not be deemed to have been closed down on account of
unavoidable circumstances beyond the control of the
employer within the meaning of the proviso to this subsection.
(2) Where any undertaking set up for the construction of buildings, bridges, roads, c·a.nals, dams or other
construction work is closed down on account of the completion of the work within two years from the date on
310
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1973] 3 S.C.R.
which the undertaking had been set up, no workman
employed therein shall be entitled to any compensation
under clause (b) of section 25F, but if the construotion
work is not so completed within two years, he shall be
entitled to notice and compensation under that section
for every completed year of continuous service or any
part thereof in excess of six months."
·
Both of these seotions occur in Ch. V-A of the Act dealing
with "Lay-off and Retrenchment" inserted in 1953. In enacting
s. 25F the Legislature standardised the payment of compensation
to workmen retrenched in the normal or ordinary sense in an
exi~ting or continuous industry bjy adopting a simple yard-stick
of the length of service of the retrenched workmen doing away
with the perplexing variety of factors for determining the appropriate relief in each case.
In Hari Prasad Shiv Shankar Shukla
v. A. D. Divekar(') it was held that this section was not intended
by the Legislature to be applicable to bona fide closure of business. This decision led to amendment of the Act "by the Parliament In 1957 s. 25FFF was inse~ted in order to give benefit of
s. 25F to the retrenched workmen where an undertaking js closed
down "for any reason whatsoever".
We need not refer to the
amendment of s. 25FF because that section does not directly
concem us. According to sul>-s.(2) oi s. 25FFF it is quite clear
that in case of closure of the categories of undertakings as mentioned therein, no workman employed in those undertakings can
claim compensation under cl. (b) of s. 25F. The language of s.
25FFF(2) is
plain and unambiguous.
Indeed1 the learned
counsel for the respondent also did not dispute that if it were to be
held in this case that the undertaking had been closed down then
cl. (b) of s. 25F would not be attracted and Shri Naidu would
not be entitled to claim relief under that clause. According to
Shri Madan Mohan, however, the present was not a case of closure
oi the undertaking.
His submission was that only the work of
the Housing Project at Ranchi had been completed. It was argued
that unless the entire undertaking of the appellant was closed down
s. 25FFF(2) could not apply. This submission is, in our opinion,
not acceptable.
The word undertaking as used in s. 25FFF seems to us to have
been used in its ordinary sense connoting thereby any work, enterprise, project or business undertaking. It is not intended to cover
the entire industry or business of the employer ·as was suggested
on behalf of the respondent. Even closure or stQppage of a part of
the business or activiti1:3 of the employer would seem in law to be
covered l;>y this sub-section. The question has indeed to be decided on the facts of each case. In the present case the Ranchi
(I) !1957) S.C.R. 121.
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MANAGEMENT lllNOUSTAN STEEL v. WORKMEN (Dua, J.)311
Housing Project was clearly a distinct venture undertaken by the
appella111t and it had a distinct beginning and an end. Separate
office was apparently set up for this venture and on the completion
ol the project or enterprise that undertaking was closed down. The
Tribunal has actually so found. Its conclusion has not been shown
to be wrong and we have no hesitation in agreeing with its view.
There is no cogent ground for ri:-opening the Tribll!lal's conclusion
under brt. 136 of the Constitution. lit is also noteworthy that
Shri Naidu had been recruited to the work-charged establishment
of the Ranchi Housing Project. In Workmen of thelndian Leafs
Tobacco Development Co. Ltd. v. Management(")
closure of
eight out of 21 depots of the company though not amounting to
closure of its entire business was considered to amount to a closilre
within the contemplation of s. 25FFF. In Parry & Co. Ltd. v.
P. C. La/(2 ) it was observed that it was within the managerial discretion ol an employer to organise and arrange his business iii
the manner he considered best and that if a bona fide scheme for
such re-organisation results in surplusage of employees, no employer is expected to carry on the burden of such economic deadweight and retrenchment has to be accepted as inevitable, however
unfortunate. The reasoning and ratio of these decisions support
the appellant's argument.
Now, under s. 25FFF( 1), which creates a statutory fiction, all
that Shri Naidu was entitled to, was notice and compensation in
accordance with the provisions of s. 25F as if he had been retrenched.
Retrenchment notice, Ex. 7, dated June 22, 1968, quite
clearly complies with this requirement. On behalf of the respondent, as already noticed, it is not disputed that there has been no
failure to give notice as required.bys. 25F, in case cl. (b) is held
inapplicable.
It is also clear that the respondent had not specifically raised
any plea ol defect in the notice given to Shri Naidu. The Tribunal,
however, allowed the objection of the notice Ex. 7 being conditional to be argued on the view that the notice was infirm on the
face of it and that the olJliection was covered by the general plea
in the written statement filed on behalf of Shri Naidu, to the effect
that the grounds given in the retrenchment notice were all false
and cooked up. On this view the notice was held to be conditional
and, therefore, invalid and Shri Naidu was held entitled to be
reinstated.
In our view, Shri Setalvad was fully justified in submitting that
the management had been taken by surprise and 1that the Tribunal
was in error in holding the general ground in the written statement
to cover the specific plea of infirmity of the notice because of its
(I) [1969] 2 S.C.R. 28 2.
(2) [1969] 2 S.C.R. 916.
312
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1973 J 3 S.C.R.
being conditional. The plea of. the statutory defect in the notice
should, in our opinion, have been reasonably specific and precise
so as to enable the appellant to meet it. The general plea could
not serve the object of putting the appellant on guard abkmt the
precise case to be met at the trial and tell the management the
precise nature of the plea with respect to the defect in the notice.
to enable them to meet it. Jn our view, if cl. (b) of s. 25F is
excluded from consideration and the plea relirtinit to infirmity of
lhe notice is ruled out, as we hold on these two points in agreement
with Shri Seta)vad, then, the impugned order is clearly insupportable. We are, therefore, constrained' to allow !he appeal, set aside
the impugned award and. hold thll't the retrenchmen~ of Shri Naidu
was proper and justified. In the circumstances of the case there
would be no order as to costs.
G.C.
Appeal allowed.
A
B
c