SHAH. ACTING C.J. - (1.) THE Judgment of the court was delivered by
(2.) BY order, dated 24/02/1965, the Chief Commissioner of Delhi referred for adjudication, industrial disputes between the appellant company and its workmen relating to dearness allowance and introduction of a scheme of gratuity lor the benefit of the workmen. The Industrial tribunal, Delhi, framed the Following "gratuity scheme" : JUDGEMENT_319_2_1969Html1.htm Provided that if termination is for any misconduct causing financial loss to the company, the amount of loss shall be deducted from the gratuity payable. The word 'wages' in this scheme shall mean the total pay packet of the workman including dearness which lie was last drawing." 321 The tribunal also directed that "all workmen who were appointed in 1960 or earlier should get dearness allowance at Rs. 3.00 for every ten point rise in the cost of Consumer Price Index base 1960 over and above their existing wages with effect from 1/01/1965. In case of workmen appointed after 1960, the Consumer Price Index base 1960 on the date of his appointment shall be found out and he shall be given Rs. 3.00 as dearness for every ten point rise in cost of Consumer Price Index base 1960 above it with effect from 1/01/1965 or such later date on which the limit of 10 point rise in cost of Consumer Price Index base is crossed." The tribunal also directed that dearness allowance will not be enhanced till the limit of. ten points be "crossed", and that dearness allowance once granted will not be reduced till the Consumer Price Index falls by more than 10 prints. The Company has appealed to this court with special leave. In the view of the tribunal, the financial position of the company "is very sound" and that it has "financial capacity and stability to bear the additional burden of dearness allowance and of the gratuity scheme' '. In reaching that conclusion the tribunal relied upon a news item published in the newspapers that 2,000.00 Russian Tractors were being immediately imported by the company even though the agency of the Company was being terminated. In reding upon newspaper reports the tribunal may have erred. But the conclusion of the tribunal is founded upon a review of several other circumstances. It is true that one of the primary lines of business of the company was of selling tractors as agents of Russian manufacturers. That agency was in danger of being terminated because the State Trading Corporation had arranged to take over the agency. But the balancesheets of the company show that the agency was only one of the many lines of business and the closure of the agency of the tractor manufacturers was not likely to affect the financial structure of the Company seriously. The tribunal has on appreciation of evidence come to the conclusion that the financial position of the company was sound and assuming that the tribunal is governed by the strict rules prescribed by the Evidence Act, sitting in appeal with special leave we will not be justified in interfering with the finding of the tribunal even if it be open to the criticism that a part of the evidence relied upon is not in law relevant.
(3.) THE company had on its roll 244 workmen out of whom 118 entered employment after 1960. THE company has been paying to its workmen wages consisting of two components basic wages and 50 per cent. of the basic wages as dearness allowance. Payment of wages is made in this form to all workmen whether their employment commenced before the year 1960 or thereafter. It is true that before 1960 the company used to make a consolidated payment without specifying any amount of basic salary or dearness allowance. Since 1960 in every appointment letter it was expressly recited that the employee will get a consolidated salary consisting of 2/3rd of the consolidated salary as basic wages and the balance as dearness allowance. THE company has produced before the tribunal 118 such letters of appointment in respect of all employees employed after the year 1960. In respect of the employees appointed prior to the year 1960 in the salary register basic salary and dearness allowance was separately entered though at the time of appointment of employees there was no allocation as basic wages and dearness allowance. There is no dispute that since the year 1960 there has been a rise in the cost of living. The Consumer Price Index for industrial workers which was 100 in 1960, had risen to more than 130 in 1965. The management of the company granted dearness allowance to employees in other concerns 322 under its management even though those other concerns were not financially very sound. No serious argument has been advanced before us that the rise in dearness allowance is not justified. The only ground of complaint is that by relating the dearness allowance to the total wage packet the workmen are given a rise both in the dearness allowance and in the basic wage.;