P S DESIKACHARI Vs. ASSOCIATED PUBLISHERS MADRAS P LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE petitions are filed under Art. 226 of the Constitution for the issue of a writ of certiorari, calling for the records relating to W. P. Nos. 17, 18 and 19 of 1959 on the file of the Labour Court, Madras, and for quashing the orders passed thereon on 8th july 1960, rejecting the claim of the petitioners for certain monetary compensation.

(2.) THE respondent is a private limited company, which owns and publishes the "mail" one of the premier English daily newspapers of Madras P. S. Desikachari, C. Theobald and A. krihnamurthi, the petitioners in the above petitioners, were employed by were employed by the respondent as the Chief Reporter, Sports editor and Reporter respectively for the paper. Each one of them had put in more than 35 years of continuous service n the establishment; by the year 1956, they had attained respectively 62, 58 and 58 years of age. The relationship between the management and the petiti9oners during the entire period of service was happy; the management treated the employees with the kindness and consideration, and the latter, on their part, responded by doing subtantial work to forward the interest of the paper. there was no special conditions of service regulating the relationship between the petitioners and the respondent. Their service would however be terminated by the notice on the either side. To be more specific the contract of employment did not provide for retirement of on the employ on reaching any particular age; nor were thier and standing orders providing for superannuation of the employees. There is however, nothing unisual or strange in this as the employer could always discharge the employee by giving the necessary notice.

(3.) THE working conditions of the journalists formed one of the subjects which the press Commission had to enquire into and consider, The Commission made its report on 14-7-1954. Shortly thereafter, the Central Legislature passes the Act 45 of 1955, which came into force on the 20-12-1955, regulating the conditions of service of working journalists and other person employed in newspaper establishment. It also provided a machinery to fix the emoluments of the working journalists. It is not that the petitioners would come within the definition of the term "working journalists" under that enactement.