Sinha, J. - (1.) The petitioner is the National Carbon Co. (India) Ltd., a well-known company engaged in the manufacture of "eveready" brand batteries and similar goods. In the year 1949, some of the workmen of the petitioner Company demanded bonus. Following upon this demand, the petitioner Company introduced a fund called the Joint Contributory Fund. This is a fund to which the workmen make contribution at a certain rate and the Company makes its own contribution. It is in the nature of a savings fund, the rules whereof are set out in annexure 'B' to the petition. It will appear therefrom that contribution to this fund is optional on the part of the workmen, and in case of discharge on account of misconduct the Company is not liable to make any contribution. On or about the 15th of January, 1951 the workmen through their representatives entered into an agreement or settlement with the petitioner Company in the course of conciliation proceedings. The agreement provided that it settled all claims of the workmen, and would be in force until the 26th August, 1952 and that during the subsistence of the settlement no other demands regarding wages, allowances, remuneration, payment, gratuities or bonuses of any kind were to be made.
(2.) Section 19 of the Industrial Disputes Act lays down the period of operation of such a settlement. The relevant provision runs as follows: "19 (1) A settlement arrived at in the course of a conciliation proceeding under this Act shall come into operation on such date as is agreed upon by the parties to the dispute, and if no date is agreed upon, on the date on which the memorandum of the settlement is signed by the parties to the dispute. (2) Such settlement shall be binding for such period as is agreed upon by the parties, and if no such period is agreed upon, for a period of six months, and shall continue to be binding on the parties after the expiry of the period aforesaid, until the expiry of two months from the date on which a notice in writing of an intention to terminate the settlement is given by one of the parties to the other party or parties to the settlement."
(3.) On the 6th of September, 1952 the respondent No. 6 served a notice in writing on the petitioner Company informing the petitioner of its intention to terminate the said settlement. On the 6th September, 1952 the respondent No. 6 served a notice claiming bonus equivalent to four months' earnings plus 50 per cent of the profit. The word 'earnings' has been defined in the Rules set out in Annexure 'B' and is as follows:-- "Earnings", means only the fixed monthly salary or wages received by each employee from the Company and, in the case of an employee engaged in piece or time work the actual amount of the wages received by him in any month in respect of the amount of work done or of the number of hours worked respectively and does not include any acting, officiating personal or dearness allowance, night allowance, overtime payment, bonus commission or other remuneration or profit whatever, derived by an employee by any means outside his fixed ascertained salary or wages.";