BASTI SUGAR MILLS LTD. versus RAM UJAGAR AND OTHERS

Citation: [1964] 2 S.C.R. 838 · Decided: 04-04-1964 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: P.B. GAJENDRAGADKAR, K.N. WANCHOO, K.C. DAS GUPTA, J.C. SHAH, N. RAJAGOPALA AYYANGAR · Disposal: Dismissed

Cited by 5 judgment(s) · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

1963 
.838 SUPRE!v!E COCR T REPORTS [J 964) VOL. 
BASTI SUGAR .MILLS LTD. 
RAM UJAGAR A'.'\D OTHERS 
(P. B. GAJg]'i;DRAOADKAR, K. N. WA.r;;OHOO, 
K. C. DAS GUPTA, J.C. SIIAfl and 
N. RAJAOOPALA AYYANOAI~ JJ.) 
Industrial 
Di~ptdt!--'l'ermint'Jtion uf 
Serri~-' Employr.r' 
and 'workman' t1t~a11ing of-Infringtmcnt vf funda1nfnlal right 
lo carry on tra<le-Uttar l'rndult 1"du-<lrial J)i,put<a Act, 1947 
(U.P. XXVJll of 1947). '·'· 2 (i) (iv).•· 2 (Z). 
An Industrial Di.pule arose bctwren tho appellant a~d 
the respondent~ in 
respect of t\\'O 
rnatti:-rs, nan1ely (I) for 
terminatin~ the services of the respondents (2) and for paying 
the respondents at a rate lower than Rs. 55,'- per month which 
was the miniinum prescribed 'vage for workmen of \tacuum 
Pan Sugar Factorirs of Uttar Pradesh under the Standin~ 
Orders dated Oct<>Uer 3, 1958, issued by the Government of 
Uttar Pradesh. The dispute was refrrrcd to the Labour Court. 
The appellant's case was that the work of removal of 
press mud had been given by the company to a contractor 
and these respondents were employed by that contractor to do 
that work. 
Their services were terminated by the contractor 
.and the management had nothing to do with these workmen. 
Therefore the appellant contend"! that the management 
con1pany did not come within the definition of "employer" 
under the provisions of littar Pradesh Industrial Di1putes 
Act, 1947. The respondents succreded in the Labour Court 
and hence this appeal. 
Htld 
(I) that the respondent> 
arc 
workmen within 
the meaning of s. 2 ( Z), being perso1 s employed in the industry 
to do manual work for 
reward, and the 
appellant is the 
employer within the meaning of sub-cl. (IV) of s. 2 (i) as the 
workman was employed by a contactor with whom the appellant 
company had contracted in the course of conducting the 
industry for the execution by the said contractor of the work 
of removal of press mud which i1 ordinarily a part of the 
indUltry. 
2 S.C.R. 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
839 
(2) 
that the imposition of restricti<;>~' on the appellan~'s 
right to carry on trade under the definmon of employer m 
sub-cl, (iv) of s. 2 (i) of the Act is in the intere<ts of the 
General public and as such the appellant's fundamental right 
under Art. 19 (1) (g) of ,the Constitution has not been 
contravened. 
(3) 
that in the ordinary 
grammatical sense the words 
"employed by a factory" which occur in the definition of the 
word "workmen" in the Standing Orders include every person 
who is employed to do the work of the factory and they are 
wide enough to include workmen employed by the contractors 
of the factory also. 
The appellant was not allowed to raise a new plea for tho 
first time in this Court. 
llahalakshmi Sugar Mills Company v. Their Workmtn, 
1961 (II) L, L.J. 623, referred to. 
CrvIL APPELLATE . fURISDIOTION : Civil Appeal 
No. 225 of 1963. 
Appeal by special leave from the award dated 
November 26, 1902 of the Labour Court, Lucknow, 
in Adjudication Case No. 68 of 1962. 
G.S. Pathak and D.N. Mukherjee for the 
appellant. M. Rajagopalan and /(. R. Chaudhuri 
for the r<!spondents. 
1963. April 4. The Judgment of the Court 
was. delivered by 
DAS GUPTA J.-The twenty·one persons who 
are the respondents in this appeal were engaged 
from November 21, 1958, to February 5, 1959, in 
the work of removal of press-mud in the sugar 
factory belonging to the appellant. On February 6, 
1959, their 
services were 
terminated. It also 
appears that for the period of work of November 21, 
1959, to February 5, 1959, they were paid wages 
at rates lower than Rs. 55/- per month which was 
1963 
Basti Su:ar Mills 
Ltd. 
•• 
Ram Ujaz1r 
n., Gufll• J. 
1963 
BaJti Sugar ,\fills 
Ltd, 
" 
Ram Ujagar 
Das Gu/J.'• J. 
840 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1004] VOL. 
the 
mm1mum 
prescribed wage for workmen of 
vacuum pan sugar factori<'S of Uttar Pradesh under 
the Standing Orders dated October :~. I !151!; issued 
by the Government of Uttar Pradesh. 
On .July 
31, 1962, the Governor of Uttar Pradesh referred 
to the Labour Court, Lucknow, a dispute between 
these respondents and the Basti Sugar Mills Ltd. · 
In this the Basti Sugar Mills Ltd., was described as 
the employers and the respondeuts as their workmen. 
The mailers in dispute were thus mentioned in the 
order of reference : -
"(!) Whether the employers have terminated 
the services of their workmen, named 
in 
the 
Annexure, will 
effect 
from 
February ti, 1959 ·legally and/or Justi

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