A.P.RAVANI,C.J. - (1.) ON January 10, 1983, JK Synthetics Ltd. declared lay off in all its fourPlants at Kota. Almost simultaneously the Company retrenched 2367 workmen engaged therein. The roots of this litigation are in the aforesaid events. The principal question which has surfaced fordeter -mination by the Court is - Has the Industrial Tribunal jurisdiction to raise and adjudicate issue regarding 'closure' of a pof a plant in absence of any point of dispute in this behalf having been referred to it. This and other related questions are required to be examined and answered by the Court in these matters.
(2.) ALL these matters pertain to the industrial disputes which arose between J.K. SyntheticsLtd., Kota (hereinafter referred to as 'the Company') and its workmen. At the request and withthe consent of the Learned Counsel appearing for the parties, all these matters have been heardtogether and they are being disposed of by this common judgment and order. The company was incorporated as an investment company sometime in May 1953. It started manufacturing operations at Kota in Rajasthan in March 1962 by commencing its Nylon Plant. It has three other Plants viz. Tyre Cord Plant, Synthetic Staple Fibre Plant and Acrylic Plant, at Kota. It has a cement complex in District Chittorgarh and it has also engineering facilities at Calcutta, Kanpur and Dadri. All these matters are in relation to the four plants at Kota. The total strength of workmen employed in these plants, as in December 1982 was as follows: - Name of the Plant/ DivisionTotal No. of permanent workmen employed1 . Nylon Plant/Div. engaged in POY/HOY Yarn Process Nylon Plant/Div. (engaged in texturising, crimping andother process)2209 11642. Tyre Cord Plant/Division6603. Synthetic Staple Fibre Plant/Division7034. Acrylic Plant/Division527Total5263 Nylon Plant of the Company was started in the year 1962 and it is the oldest Plant. The other plants viz. Tyre Cord Plant and Synthetic Staple Fibre Plant were started in the year 1971. In the year 1980, the company started fourth plant called Acrylic plant.
(3.) ON January 10, 1983, the company declared lay off in all the four Plants at Kota on the ground that 100% power cut was declared by the Rajasthan State Electricity Board on January 9, 1983. The lay off was lifted in phases commencing from February 6, 1983 to February 17, 1983. Immediately after declaration of lay off by notices dated January 15, 1983 and January 17, 1983 services of 2367 workmen were terminated as per the details herein below: a. Nylon Plant/Division1878b. Nylon Tyre Cord Plant/Division148c. Synthetic Staple Fibre Plant251d. Acrylic Fibre Plant /Division90Total2367 Thus, services of around 45% of the total work force were terminated as and by way of retrenchment. As a mark of protest and in order to show resentment against the action of mass retrenchment, the workmen did not join duty from February 17, 1983 even after the lay off was lifted by the company. 5. By January 21, 1983 i.e. after effecting retrenchment, the company informed the secre -tary, Labour Department, State Government of Rajasthan about the action of retrenchment of workmen. It was inter alia stated that the information was given under Section 25F (c) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'). The company stated reasons for retrenchment in Annexure -A to the letter. It gave details with regard to each plant. In short, as regards Nylon Plant, it submitted that the company had decided to discontinue the processes of crimping, twisting, texturing, draw texturising, dyeing, coning and their inter -connected processes, as they had become unremu -nerative. Therefore 1149 workmen of Nylon Plant were rendered surplus and were required to be retrenched. As regards other Plants also the company gave details about the financial position and stated that in the interest of continuity of business, it had decided to effect economy in its operations. Therefore, it has become necessary to retrench the services of the surplus work force. In Annexure -B to the letter, the Company gave particulars of the workmen who were retrenched.;