NATIONAL JUTE MANUFACTURERS CORPORATION LTD. versus KATIHAR MAZDOOR SANGH AND ORS.

Citation: [2001] 2 S.C.R. 1177 · Decided: 12-04-2001 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: S. RAJENDRA BABU · Disposal: Dismissed
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Judgment (excerpt)

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NATIONAL JUTE MANUFACTURERS CORPORATION LTD. 
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v. 
KATIHAR MAZDOOR SANGH AND ORS. 
APRIL 12, 2001 
[S. RAJENDRABABU AND SlilVARAJV. PATIL, JJ.] 
Labour Law: 
Bihar Industrial Establishment (National and Festival Holidays and 
Casual Leave) Act, 1976: 
Section 13-Leave-Workmen entitled to I 0 days of paid national and 
festival holidays and 7 days' casual leave prior to transfer of Jute Mill-New 
Corporation allowed the same facility of leave to the workmen, through a 
tripartite settlement, though the Bihar Act not applicable to the Corporation-
Subsequently, the paid holiday of Deepawali was substituted by paid holiday on 
2nd October-But Industrial Tribunal ordered paid holiday of Deepawali to the 
workmen-Correctness of-Held: Under the tripartite settlement, the Nation-
alisation Act and the Bihar Act the rights and privileges more favourable to the 
worlanen cannot be taken away or affected-Hence, award of Tribunal does not 
call for inteiference-Jute Companies (Nationalisation) Act 1980, S. 13. 
The Respondents were workmen of a Jute Mills, which stood trans-
ferred and vested in the Central Government under the Jute Companies 
(Nationalisation) Act, 1980. The Central Government in turn transferred 
the said Mill to the appellant-Corporation. Prior to the transfer the re-
spondents-workmen were entitled to 10 paid national festival holidays in 
addition to 7 days' casual leave. The appellant allowed t.his leave facility to 
the respondents under the provisions of the Bihar industrial Establishment 
(National and Festival Holidays and Casual Leave) Act, 1976, through a 
tripartite settlement, though the Bihar Act was not applicable to the appel-
lant since it was under the Central Government. 
Subsequently, the appellant substituted the paid holiday ofDeepawali 
by the paid holiday on 2nd October. The respondents raised an industrial 
dispute and the Industrial Tribunal ordered paid holiday of Deepawali to 
the respondents, which was available to them prior to the transfer of the 
Mills. The High Court confirmed this order. Hence this appeal. 
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
(2001] 2 S.C.R. 
Dismissing the appeal, the Court 
HELD : 1. Deepawali was a paid holiday to the workmen prior to the 
transfer of the Jute Mill. By virtue of the tripartite settlement and in view 
of Section 12 of the Jute Companies (Nationalisation) Act, 1980 and Sec-
tion 13 of the Bihar Industrial Establishment (National and Festival Holi· 
days and Casual Leave) Act, 1976 the rights and privileges more favour-
able to the workmen could not be taken away or affected. The said settle-
ment itself indicates. tha(the holidays were to be regulated in the manner 
specified and within the framework of the Bihar Act and Rules made 
thereunder. Therefore, the award of the Tribunal does not call for interfer· 
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ence. (1181-B-D; Fl 
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Indian Oxygen lJd. v. Stale of Bihar, (1990] 2 SCC 254, held inapplica-
ble. 
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 6443 of 1997. 
From the Judgment and Order dated 20.9.96 of the Patna High Court 
in LP.A. No. 1232 of 1995. 
Arvind Verma, Ms. S. Manda!, Ms. Varsha Chaudhary and Kapil K. 
Chaudhary for the Appellant. 
Ravi Shankar Kumar, Saba Rahman, L.R. Singh and B .B. Singh (NP) 
for the Respondents. 
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by 
SHIVARAJ V. PATlL, J. In these appeals the validity and correctness 
of the Award dated 18.10.1993 passed by the Industrial Tribunal, Patna, as 
affirmed by the learned single Judge and confinned by the Division Bench 
of the High Court, is challenged. 
By the impugned award, the tribunal ordered that the workmen shall 
get one day's paid holiday on the occasion of Deepawali which was available 
to them prior to 1979. However they will not get any arrears on that count. 
Rai Bahadur Hurdut Ray Motilal Jute Mills Pvt. Ltd. (for short 'the 
Mill') had remained closed from 25.2.1975 t~ 17.8.1979. On coming into 
force of the Jute Companies (Nationalisatfon) Act, 1980 (for short the 
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'Nationalisation Act') it stood transferred and ve~d in the Central Govern-
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NATIONAL JUTE MANUFACTURERS CORPN. L1D. 11. KATIHAR MAZDOOR SANGH (S. V, PATIL, J.) 
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ment with effect from 21.12.1980. In tum the Central Govennnent nuder the 
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provisions of the said Act transferred the Mill to the National Jute Manufac-
turers Corporation Limited (for short the 'Corporation'). Though the provi-
sions of the Bihar Industri
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