ASSAM. OIL COMP ANY versus ITS WORKMEN

Citation: [1960] 3 S.C.R. 457 · Decided: 04-04-1960 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: P.B. GAJENDRAGADKAR · Disposal: Case Partly allowed

Cited by 2 judgment(s) · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

' 
3 S.C.R. 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
457 
We therefore allow the appeal in part and set aside 
the award in so far as it directed the payment of 50% 
of the total emoluments for the strike period but 
maintain the rest of the award. There will be no 
order as to costs. 
Appeal allowed. 
ASSAM. OIL COMP ANY · 
v. 
ITS WORKMEN 
(P. B. GAJENDRJ.GADKAR and K. C. DAs 
GUPTA, JJ.) 
Industrial Dispu,te-Termination of service in accordance with 
contract-If can be qu.estioned before industrial tribunal-Termi-
nation on basis of misconduct of workman-If amounts to dismissal-
No enquiry-,-Reinstatement if appropriate relief. 
One S was employed by the appellant as a secretary and 
one_ of.the terms of employment was that the appointment may 
be terminated on one month's notice on either side. The appel-
lant was thoroughly dissatisfied with the work of S and dis-
approved of her conduct in joining the union. Purporting to 
act under the contract, the appellant terminated the services of 
S and gave her one month's pay in lieu of notice. 
No enquiry 
was held by the appellant before terminating the services of S. 
The industrial tribunal held that the termination of services 
amounted to a dismissal for misconduct and since no enquiry 
was held it was illegal and unjustified and it passed an order for 
the reinstatement of S. 
The appellant contended that as the 
termination was strictly in accurdance with the terms of the con-
tract it could not be challenged before an \ndustrial tribunal, 
that even if no enquiry was held the order of discharge was 
justified as the evidence led before the tribunal established the 
misconduct of S and that at the highest it was a case for award-
ing compensation and not for reinstatement: 
Held, that the discharge amounted to punishment for alleged 
misconduct and was unjustified in the absence of a proper 
enquiry. Even where the discharge was in exercise of the power 
under the contract it was competent for. the tribunal to enquire 
whether the discharge had been effected in the bona fide exercise 
of that power. If the tribunal found that the purported exer-
cise of the power was in fact the result of the misconduct alleged 
then it would be justified in dealing with the dispute ~m the basis 
that the order of discharge was in effect an order of dismissal. 
Western India Automobile Association v. Industrial Tribunal, 
8omba)I, [1949] F.C.R. 321, followed .. 
Management of 
Ckandramalai 
Estate, 
Ernakulam, 
v. 
Its Workmen 
Das G1<pta ] • 
April 'f.· 
458 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[1960] 
t960 
Held, further, that in the circumstances of the present case 
compensation and not reinstatement \Vas the appropriate relief 
~ ssam Oil Co.. 
that should have been awarded. The normal rule \Vas that in 
New ·nelhi 
cases of wrongful dismissal the dismissed employee was entitled 
v. 
to reinstatement but there could be cases \vhere it would not be 
Its Work1nen 
expedient to follow the normal rule. 
In the present case the 
appellant's office was a small one and S occupied a position of 
some confidence. 
The appellant was dissatisfied with the work 
of S and had lost confidence in her. 
In such a case it would not 
be fair either to the employer or the employee to direct rein-
statement. 
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: 
.Civil Appeal -
No. 24 of 1959. 
Appeal by special leave from the Award dated 
September 18, 1957, of the Industrial Tribunal, Delhi, 
in I. D. No. 3 of 1957. 
· 
H. N. Sanyal, Additional Solicitor-General of India., 
Vidya Sagar and. B. N. Ghosh, for the appellant. 
Frank Anthony and Janardan Sharma, for the res-
pondents. 
1960. April 4. 
The Judgment of the Court was 
delivered by 
. 
Gajend••gadka• ]. 
GAJENDRAGADKAR, J.-This appeal by special leave 
arises from an industrial dispute between the a ppel-
lant, Assam Oil Company Ltd., and the respondent, its 
workmen. The dispute was in regard to the termina-
tion of services of Miss P. Scott, one of the employees 
of the appellant. The respondent alleged that the 
said termination of Miss Scott's services was illegal 
and that was one of the points referred to the Indus-
trial Tribunal, New Delhi, for its adjudication. The 
other point of dispute bet.ween the parties was in 
regard to the quantum and conditions of the payment 
of bonus for the year 1955-56 to the appellant's work-
men. The industrial tribunal has directed the appel-
lant to reinstate Miss Scott and to pay her all the 
back wages from the date of her dismissal until t

Excerpt shown. Read the full judgment & AI analysis in Lexace.