BUCKINGHAM AND CARNATIC CO. LTD. versus WORKERS OF THE BUCKINGHAM AND CARNATIC CO. LTD.

Citation: [1953] 1 S.C.R. 219 · Decided: 02-12-1952 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: MEHR CHAND MAHAJAN · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

Judgment (excerpt)

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S.C.R. 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
219 
BUCKINGHAM AND CARNA'l1IC CO. L'l'D. 
1952 
v. 
• 
WORKERS OF THE BUCKINGHAM AND 
CARNATIC CO. L'l'D. 
[MEHR CHAND MAHAJAN, DAS and BHAGWATI JJ.} 
Indian Factories Act (XXV of 1934), s. 49·B-Indttstrial 
. Disputes Act ( XIY of 1947 ), s. 2 ( q)-Eniployees stopping work for 
a few hours by concerted action-Whether "strilce"-Continuity of 
service, whether interrupted-Loss of right to holidays with pay. 
Where the night-shift operatives of a department of a textile 
mills stopped work from about 4 p.m. up to about 8 p.m. on a 
certain day, the apparent cause of the strike heing that the manage-
ment of the mills had expressed its· inability to comply with the 
requ"est of the workers to declare the forenoon of that day as a 
holiday for solar eclipse, and it was found that the stoppage of 
work was the result of concerted action: 
Held (i) that the stoppage of work fell within the definition of 
a "strike" in s. 2 (q) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947; 
(ii) that the strike was an illegal strike as the textile mills 
was a public utility industry and no notice had been given t9 the 
management, even though the refusal to work continued only for 
ii. few hours ; and 
(iii) that the continuity of service of the workers was inter-
rupted by this illegal strike and they were not entitled to claim 
holidays with pay under s. 49-B (1) of the Indian Factories Act, 
1934. 
CrvIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: 
Civil Appeal 
No. 89 of 1952. Appeal by special leave from the 
Judgment dated June 27, 1951, of the Labour Appel-
late Tribunal of India at Calcutta in Appeals Nos. 94 
and 142 o.f 1950 arising out of the Award of the 
Second Industrial Tribunal, Madras (published in the 
Fort St. George Gazette, Madras, dated October 3, 
1950). 
N. 0. Ohatter;'ee (S. N. Mukherjee, with him) for 
the appellant. 
S. 0. 0. Anthoni Pillai (President, Madras Labour 
Union) for the respondents. 
1952. 
December 2. 
The Judgment of the Co-qry 
was qelivered by MAHAJAN J, 
Dec 
~. 
1952 
Bueki1igham 
and Oarn.atic 
Co. Ltd. 
v. 
Workers of the 
Buckingham 
and Garnatic 
Co. Ltd. 
MahajanJ. 
220 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[1953) 
MAHAJAN J.-This is an appeal by special leave 
from a decision dated 27th June, 1951, of the I.Jabour 
Ap~ellate Tribunal of India at Calcutta in appeals 
Nos. 94 and 142 of 1950, arising out of the award of 
the Second Industrial Tribunal, Madras. 
The relevant facts and circumstances giving rise to 
the appeal are as follows: 
On 1st November, 1948, 
859 'night shift operatives of the carding and spinning 
department of the Carnatic Mills stopped work, some 
at 4 p.m., some at 4-30 p.m., and some at 5 p.m. The 
stoppage ended at 8 p.m. in both the departments. By 
10 p.m. the strike ended completely. 
The apparent 
cause for the strike was that the management of the 
Mills had expressed its inability to comply with the 
request of the workers to declare the forenoon of·the 
1st November, 1948, as a holiday for solar eclipse. 
On thi;l 3rd November, 1948, the management put up 
a notice that the stoppage of work on the 1st N ovem-
ber amounted to an illegal strike and a break in ser-
vice within the meaning of the Factories Act (XXV of 
1934) and that the management had decided that the 
workers who had participated in the said strike would 
not be entitled to holidays with pay as provided by the 
Act. Tb is position was not accepted by the Madras 
Labour Union. The Madras Government by an order 
dated the 11th July, 1949, made under section 10(1) 
(c) of the Industrial Disputes Act (XIV of 1947), 
referred this dispute along with certain other disputes 
to the Industrial Tribunal, Madras. The adjudicator 
gave the award which was published in the Gazette on 
12th October, 1950. 
By his award the adjudicator 
found that there could be little doubt that the stop-
page of work by the night shift workers on the night 
of tbe 1st November, 1948, was a strike, that it was an 
illegal strike, since the textile industry is notified as a 
public utility industry and there could be no legal strike 
without a proper issue of notice in the terms pres-
cribed by the Industrial Disputes Act. No such notice 
had been given. In view of this finding he upheld 
the view of the management that the continuity of 
service of the workers Wf!S bro!>en by the interruption 
y 
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S.C.R. 
-SUPREME - COURT REPORTS 
221 · 
caused by the illegal strike and that as a cornrnq uence 
the workers. who 

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