K.C.Agrawal, J. - (1.) FINDING a conflict between two Division Benches reported in Postal Seals Industrial Cooperative Society Limited, Aligarh v. Labour Court II, Lucknow, 1971 (I) LLJ 327 and Krishna Mohan Singh v. Raton Steel Limited, Lohta Varanasi 1973 (26) Indian Factories and Labour Reports 418, the present reference has been made to the Full Bench.
(2.) THE facts of the case needing to be stated for deciding the controversy lie in a narrow campus. The Petitioner was a registered firm carrying on the business of manufacturing metal utensils at Mirzapur. According to the Petitioner, it had a small workshop where nine persons were employed. Respondent No. 1, which is Bartan Nirmata Mazdoor Sabha, raised a demand for payment of bonus to the workmen for the year 1970 -71. As the Petitioner firm did not agree to the payment of bonus on the ground that since it was not a factory, having in its employment less than twenty persons, there was no liability of payment of bonus under the Payment of Bonus Act. The State Government being satisfied that a dispute existed between the Petitioner and Respondent No. 1, made a reference of the dispute referred to above to the Industrial Tribunal (I), Allahabad. The case was registered as Adjudication Case No. 65 of 1973.
(3.) ON receipt of notice from the Industrial Tribunal, both the parties filed their written statements and rejoinders. The Petitioner firm, as stated above, asserted that it was not a factory and as the workmen employed were less than twenty, the Payment of Bonus Act did not apply to it. The Respondent No. 1 controverted the facts stated in the written statement of the Petitioner firm.;