LexMCLEOD AND COMPANY LTD. versus WORKMEN
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568 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1964] 1963 his explanation on March 11, 1952. That notice was not concerned with any concealment that came N.A. Malbari to light from the production of the books on August and Bros. 17, 1953 and, therefore, on this concealment the v. assessee had never been heard. In assessing a penalty Commissioner of on this notice subsequently acquired knowledge would Income-tax, be irrelevant. Bombay . . The result is that the appeal fails and it is dis- Sarkar J. missed with costs. 1963 November 29 Appeal dismissed. MCLEOD AND COMPANY LTD. v. WORKMEN (P.B. GAJENDRAGADKAR AND K.C. DAS GUPTA, JJ.) Industrial Dispute-Worker's ·claim for cash allowance in lieu of tiffin arrangements-Implied condition of service-Re-employ- ment of retired persons-Limited direction b)' Tribunal, if proper. The disputes between the appellant company and its workmen were referred to the Industrial Tribunal. The workmen claimed that (1) they should be given cash allowance in lieu of the tiffin arrangements made by the company. and (2) the practice started by the company of re-employing retired persons should be dis- continued. The Tribunal directed : (I) the clerical staff should be paid As. -/8/- per day and the subordinate staff As. -/6/- per day on all working days, and (2) the company should stop the re- employment of retired workmen in the category of clerks above C grade. In respect of the subordinate staff as also in regard to the lower grade clerks, the Tribunal thought it unnecessary to make any such direction. The evidence showed that in the region 31 comparable concerns were supplying free tiffin to their employees and that the appellant company had been throughout making . provision for tiffin to its employees. It was also found that the policy adopted by the company of re-employing the retired personnel was not based solely on humanitarian grounds and that when retired persons were re-employed they were paid a much smaller salary for doing the same work than they were drawing before retirement. • 5 S.C.R. SUPREME COURT REPORTS 569 Held: (i) Though under the provisions of the Factories Act there was no obligation on the company, either statutory or otherwise, for giving the workers a cash allowance for tiffin. the history of the relations between the parties coupled with the prevailing practice in the comparable concerns showed that it was an implied condition of service that in addition to the wages and dearness allowance a provision for tiffin was an amenity to which the employees were entitled. and that the decision of the Tribunal could not be interfered with. (ii) The limited direction issued by the Tribu,ial in respect of the re-employment of retired persons was neither improper nor unjustified. CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal • No. 514 of 1963. Appeal by special leave from the judgment Award dated August 21, 1962, of the Fourth Industrial Tri- ' bunal, West Bengal in Otse No. VIII-332 of 1961. A. V. Viswanatha Sastri, D.N. Gupta, S.C. Mazum- dar and B.N. Ghosh, for the appellant. D.L. Sen Gupta and Janardan Sharma, for the respondents. November 29, 1963. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by 1963 Mcleod and Company Ltd. v. Worknien GAJENDRAGADKAR, J.-The industrial dispute be- Gajendragadkar tween the appellant, Mcleod & Company Ltd., and J. the respondents, its workmen, which has given rise to the present appeal centered round two items of claim made by the respondents. The respondents claimed that they should be given cash allowance in lieu of the tiffin arrangements at present made by the appellant, and they urged that the practice started by the appellant of re-employing retired persons should be discontinued. The Tribunal has granted the first claim and has directed that the clerical staff should be paid As. -/8/- per day and the subordinate staff As. -/61- per day on all working days in lieu of the tiffi.n arrangements which are at present made by the appellant. In regard to the second claim, the Tribunal has ordered that the appellant should stop the re-employment of retired workmen in the category of clerks above 'C' grade. In respect of the 570 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1964) 1963 subordinate staff as also in regard to the lowest grade clerks, the Tribunal thought it unnecessary to make Mcleod and any such direction. That is how the latter claim has Company Ltd. been partially all
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