Shelat, J. - (1.) By an order dated June 17, 1964 the Government of West Bengal referred an industrial dispute between the respondent company and its workmen represented by Keltlewell Bullen Employees Union to the Second Industrial Tribunal, West Bengal for adjudication under Section 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The dispute referred to was; "Age of retirement of the workmen who are governed by the rules, relating to age of retirement introduced by the company in 1947 and 1951".
(2.) It appears that the rules of 1947 and 1951. were mentioned in the reference as there was previously a dispute between the company and its workmen whether there were rules of 1947 in respect of the age of retirement, if so, whether the company had applied them and whether in any event they were operative on workmen employed by the company prior to 1947. The companys stand was that there were rules of 1947 which were modified in 1951 and applied to all its employees irrespective of their being in its-employment prior to or after, those rules came into operation. Accordingly, the company compulsorily retired an employee, one Tarapada Singha on his attaining the age of 55 years. An industrial dispute having been, raised, the matter ultimately came to this Court when it was held that there were rules of 1947 which were modified in 1951 but that they could not apply to those employees of the company who were in service prior to their coming into force, (see Workmen v. Kettlewell Bullen & Co. Ltd.(1) It was in this background as to, what, should be the age of retirement of those employees to whom the said rules of 1947 and 1951 applied, that the present dispute was raised and the said reference appears to have been made. The Tribunal, however, was not concerned as to who amongst the existing employees were or were not governed by those rules. It was concerned only with the question as to what should, be the age of retirement for those who were governed by those rules.
(3.) The case of the workmen was that looking to the recent trend in West Bengal the age of retirement fixed at 55 years under the said rules should be raised to 60 years; the company on the other hand insisted that there was no justification for raising it from 55 to 60 years. Before the Tribunal, it seems, the company took the stand that if the age of retirement were to be raised it should in any event not be more than 58 years. The Tribunal held after considering the facts of the case and the examples of other concerns in the region that the age of retirement fixed at 55 years under the said rules should be raised to 58 years. Not satisfied with the award the workmen filed this appeal after obtaining special leave from this Court.;