MANAGEMENT OF TRAVANCORE KNITTING CO TIRUPPUR COIMBATORE Vs. K MUTHUSWAMY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition is to quash the award of the Labour Court, Coimbatore, holding that the order of the management, which is the petitioner in this Court, dismissing the first respondent from service was vitiated by want of good faith on its part and could not, therefore, be upheld. The labour court also directed reinstatement of the respondent with back wages.

(2.) THE petitioner is a knitting company. It appears that in the place of the "adi pandigai day", "may day" was, at the request of the workmen, declared a holiday. Trouble, however, seems to have started when the Adi Pandigai neared, as the workmen apparently wanted that day also to be declared as a holiday in that connection the management framed two charges against the first respondent (1)that he prevented the other workers from going to work on Adi. Pandigai day, representing to them that it was a holiday and so they need not attend the factory, and (2) That in the petition sent by the workers on or about Adi Pandigai day, he compelled certain illiterate workers to sign the same and that he also compelled the workers to become members of the Union. These charge3 were framed and served upon the first respondent on September 15, 1958. On a certain incident, which is said to have occurred on the next day, an addition. charge was framed to the effect that the first respondent. on September 16, 1958, caused loss to the management by cutting banian cloth rolls into sleeves and cuffs on the ground that there were holes in the cloth and that when the manager examined the cloth rolls, he was not able to show any holes to him. On an enquiry held on these charges, a few witnesses were examined both on the side of the management as well as the first respondent. The management eventually found that the charges were proved. The first respondent was accordingly dismissed from service by order of the management dated October 11, 1958.

(3.) BECAUSE of the cause of first respondent having been espoused by the other workmen, an Industrial dispute was raised which was referred by the Government to the labour Court, Coimbatore, for adjudication. The reference was on the following questions.