CHEMICAL AND FIBRES OF INDIA LIMITED Vs. D G BHOIR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The question that arises in these appeals is the implication of Section 2A of the Industrial Disputes Act. On 14th August, 1972 the Government of Maharashtra made a reference to the Labour Court under Section 10 (1) (c) of the Industrial Disputes Act in respect of the dismissal by the appellant of one of its employees M. S. Bobhate. On 25th August 1972 the appellant dismissed three other workers, Dastoor, Shame and Soman after an enquiry and this led to a strike in the appellant's factory. Towards the end of October 1972 the Company discharged about 312 of its employees and filed 12 applications before the Industrial Tribunal for approval of such discharge on the ground that a reference was pending before it. The appellant pleaded before the Tribunal that the strike was illegal as a reference was pending in respect of Bobhate and therefore the discharge of its workers by the appellant was in order and approval should be granted. On August 30, 1973 the Tribunal rejected all the applications for approval and these appeals have been filed in pursuance of a Special Leave granted by this Court.

(2.) Though reference was made to the' repeated calls on behalf of the employer to the strikers to return to work and the refusal of the workmen to return to work the sole point for determination is whether when a reference is pending before the Labour Court in respect of a matter falling under Section 2A any strike by the other workers would be illegal. That is the only ground on which Special Leave has been granted. Under Section24 of the Industrial Disputes Act, in so far as it is relevant for the purposes of this case, a strike shall be illegal if it is commenced or declared in contravention of Section 22 or Section 23. We are not concerned with Section 22 in this case though at one stage that seems to have been one of the grounds for contending that the strike was illegal. Section 23, insofar as it is relevant for the purposes of this case, reads as follows:

(3.) In the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill which resulted in the enactment of Section 2A it is stated: