- (1.) THIS is a petition under Arts. 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, made by the New Jehangir Vakil Mills Ltd. , Bhavnagar, and it arises out of an order made by the Industrial Tribunal, Rajkot, in-Miscellaneous "application No. 196 of 1956. This petition raises an interesting question, and the question raised is the one of construing S. 33 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. This question has arisen in this way. Miscellaneous Application No. 196 of 1956 was an application which was filed by certain three workers of the New Jahangir Vakil Mills Ltd. . Bhavnagar, under S. 33a of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The three workers complained under S. 33-A of the Act that they were dismissed by notices served upon them on 17-4-1956, and the dismissal was ordered without the previous permission of the Industrial Tribunal, Rajkot. The complaint of the three workers was that at the date of their dismissal, certain disputes in which The New Jehangir Vakil Mills Ltd. , and also its workmen were concern ed, were pending before the Tribunal and, therefore it was obligatory, under the Act, for the Mills to have sought the previous permission of the Tribunal before dismissing the workmen. It may be noted" that the three workmen who made the application under S. 33a of the Act were the workmen belonging to the Ring Frame Department of the New Jehangir Vakil Mills Ltd. , at Bliavnagar. They were working as doffers. They were dismissed by the Mills on 17-4-1956, and the ground for the dismissal was the misconduct of those workers, the misconduct being that the workers threw bobbins at the Technical Manager. On the date of their dismissal, two disputes were pending before the Tribunal. Those two disputes were Adjudications Nos. 56 and 62 of 1955. In Adjudication No. 56 of 1955, the dispute to be adjudicated upon was a dispute relating to compensation payable to the workers of the winding and warping department. In Adjudication No. 62 of 1955, the dispute to be adjudicated upon was in regard to the determination of seniority between the three workers of the bleaching department, and the change over which was to be effected upon the basis of the said seniority. Now the three workmen Hira Ramji, Prema Nanji and Popat Bhikha who were dismissed by the Mills on 17-4-1956, contended that since the adjudication proceedings mentioned above were pending at the date of their dismissal, it was obligatory upon the Mills to take the permission of the Industrial Tribunal before dismissing the workers, and that as the Mills did not obtain such prior permission from the Industrial Tribunal, they violated the provisions of S. 33 of the Act. It was upon these contentious that the three workmen complained under S. 33a of the Act to the Industrial Tribunal, so that the Tribunal might adjudicate upon their complaint.
(2.) UPON the above complaint being filed by the three workmen of the ring frame department of the Mills, the Mills raised a preliminary objection to the maintainability of the worker's application under S. 33a of the Act. The preliminary objection which was taken by the Mills was that the three workmen were not concerned in the disputes which were pending before the Tribunal, and, therefore, the provisions of S. 33 would not be attracted, and accordingly the Tribunal would have no jurisdiction to entertain the workmen's complaint under S. 33a of the Act.
(3.) THE Industrial Tribunal at Rajkot, upon the abovementioned preliminary objection being taken by the Mills, held that although it was true that the three workmen, Hira, Prema and Popat, were not directly concerned in the disputes which were pending in Adjudications Nos. 56 and 62 of 1955, they became concerned in those disputes, since the orders of reference in those disputes which were pending adjudication, were styled as disputes between The New Jehangir Vakil Mills Ltd. . Bhavangar and its workmen represented by the Mill Kamdar Union, Bhavangar, and since the three workmen mentioned above were members of the said Union. Upon this View of' the matter, which the learned Member of the Industrial Tribunal took, he held that the work men Hira, Prema and Popat were entitled to make an application to the Tribunal under S. 33a of the Act. It is from this order of the Tribunal that the present petition under Arts. 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India is filed by the New Jehangir Vakil Mills Ltd. , Bhavangar.;