3 S.d.R. SUPREME dOlJRT REPORTS 511

M/s. L. H. SUGAR FACTORIES AND OIL MILLS

(P) LTD:

ti.

THEIR WORKMEN

(P. B. GAJENDRAGADKAR, K. C. ])As Qu.PTA, and

... J. R. l\{UDHOLKAR, JJ.)

)-.

.Induatrial Diapute-"Oruahing 8eaion"-ltf eanmg of­

Date 011 which the cru&hing BeaBon e11ded-lndU8trial Disputes

Act.

194'1 (U

of 194'1).

The appellants employed aboo.t 1,600 seasonal workers

and about 650 permanent workers. The cane crushing

process terminated on

March 12, 1959, and on that day about 1,000 of the 1,600 seasonal workers left for their homes by the

evening after receiving their dues. The· remaining seasonal

workers continued to work in the factory till March 16, 1959.

Under the term of a previous award; they were entitled to

three days' closure holidays. According to the appellant

the crushi~g season must be_ regarded as having ended on

March 16, 1959, which was the last day on which the factory

wa' worked and that only those seasonal workers who were

borne on

the muster roll of the factory on

Match 17, 1959,

would be entitled to three days' closure holiday&. The point

for consideration was whether the "Crushing season" of·

· 1958·59 must be deemed to have ended on March 12, 195!:1,

when the actual crushing of sugar cane stopped, or on

March 16, 1959. when all ancillary operations in the factory

came to

an end and the

entire machinary was at a stand-still.

Held, that the expression "Crushing Season" must be

given its ordinary meaning unless

it is shown that in the

industry in question

it has acquired some other meaning.

There

was rio evidence before the tribunal to the effect that

"crushing season" meant the period during which the factory

was actually working and not metely tlie period during which

the crushing operations were being carried ori. Since the

operations came to an end on March 12, 1959, the crushing

must

be held to have ended on that day, and, therefore, the seasonal workers borne on the muster roll on March 13, 1959,

were entitled to three days' closure holidays.

• CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal

No. 254 of 1962.

.1962

August 3.

liD.

, L. '16. Su1ar

'F&el1rie.s ch Oii

'Jlillo(l') Lli .

••

Th1ir W 01kmen

.

572 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1963f

Appeal by special leave from the Award dated

May 1, 1961, of the Industrial Tribunal (Ill), U.P.

at Allahabad in Reference No. 69 of 1959.

· G. S. Pathak, J. B. Darlachanji, 0. C. Mathur

and Ravinder Narain, for the appellants. · .

B. P. Maheshwari, for the respondents.

1962, August 3.-The Judgment of the court

was delivered by

J(udh<lkar J. MuDHOLKAR, J.-The only point for consi-

deration in

this

·appeal by special leave from an

award of the Industrial Tribunal at Allahabad is

whether the "crushing season" of 1958:59 must be

deemed

to have ended on March

J.2, 1959 when the ·r

actual crushing of sugar cane stopped or on March ~

16, 1959 when all ancillary operations in the factory

oame

to an end and the entire machinery was at a

stand-still. According

to the appellants the

"crusli'

ing season" came to an end on the latter date while

according

to the respondents who are the

employees

of the factory it came to an end on the former

date.

The importance of determining the date on

whic~e season terminated arises out of the ad­

mitteil'position that only those seasonal workers

who

are borne on the muster roll of the factory on

the

day next to the date on which the crushing

season ended would be entitled

to three days'

clos-.

ure holidays. It is the case of the respondents that .\.

the appellants employ about l.600seasonal workers

and about 650 permanent workers. ·It is common

ground

that the crushing process terminated on

March 12, 1959,

and on that day about

1,000 of

the l,600·seasonal workers left for their homes· by

the evening after receiving all their dues. The remai·

ning seasonal workers continued to work in the :;..

factory till Maroh 16, 1959, and, therefore, under

3 S.C.R. SUPREME COURT REPORTS 573.

a

term of an award of the. Industrial Tribunal in

reference No. 33 of 53 and

d11.ted April 15, 1953,

they are entitled to three days' closure . holidays.

The case of the appellants, however, is that the

crushing season must be regarded as having ended

on March 16, 1959 which was the last day on which

the factory was worked and that only those seasonal

workers who were borne on the muster roll of the

factory on March 17, 1959 would be entitled .to

three days' closure holidays. The 600 seasonal

workers who worked till the evening of March 16,

1959, would therefore, according

to them

not be

entitled to dosure holidays. During arguments

Mr.

Pathak also suggested that the

fact that

between March 12 and March 16,1959, 600 seasonal

workers continued

to work in the factory has

not been established in this case.

Taking

up the last point it is sufficient to

point out that the evidence of W. W. 1, B.

S.

Chauhan, who is a member of the executive of the

. U. P. Trade Union Congress, Kanpur, shows that

the seasonal workers other than those . who left on

the evening

of March 12, 1959, were borne on the

muster roll

of the appellants on

March 13, 1959.

His evidence on

the point has not been challenged

in

the cross-examination. Nor have the appellants

examined

any witness for the purpose of showing

how many seasonal

. workers were borne on the

) muster roll on March 13, 1959 .. The only. witness

examined

by them,

Shrl K. K. Sinha, who is work­

ing as Manufacturing Chemist, has no knowledge

about the

matter because,

as admitted by him in

· his cross·examination, he was not working in the

mills in the 1958-59 crushing season. Since the

total number of seasonal workers was 1,600 and

nearly a thousand had left on March 12, 1959 the

number of those who continued to work till March

16, 19!)9 must be six hundred. ·We must, therefore,

proceed on the basis tl~at the na~es of abol,lt 609

1962

' L.H. Sugar

· Factories tlJ Oil

M ilh {PJ Ltd.

... v.

Their Wotkmen ,

· Mudholkar •

1962

L H. Sugar .

. Fado1id.r &: Oil

Mills (P) Ltd.

~.

rheir Workmen

Mudho/kar J.

574 . SUPREJlE'COUR'l'.REPO.l,l.1.'S (1963]

seasonal workers continued

to be borne on

!the

muster roll of the appellants on March ·13, 1959.

What has to be considered ·then is what was

the date on whioh the crushing season of 1958-59

ended.

It seems to us olear

that the crushing sea­

son must be deemed to have ended on the <late on

:which

the crushing

opera~ions in the factory came

to an end and not.on ti).e date on which the manu­

facturing p:r;ocesses in the factory came. to an end.

We

must give to the expression .. orushing

season"

its ordinary meaning unless it is shown that in the

industry it has acquired some other meaning.

There was no evidence before .the Tribunal

to the

effect that ''crushing

sea•on" meant the period dur­

ing which the faotory was actually working an.d not

merely the period during which the crushing opei:a-

tions were being carried on. ·

Clause

(3~-of

the Award of 1953 runs as follows:

"All. · permanent workers and such

seasonal employees as are on the factory's

roll on

the day following the. close of the

crushing season will

be entitled _to the clos­

ure holid{l-ys.''

There is nothing in the Award to indicate

that according to the Tribunal "crushing season"

meant anything else than the period during which

crushing operations · were carried on . Since, as

already pointed

out

, the operations came to an end

on March

12

, 1959 the crushing season must be held

to have ended on that day. · Those seasonal

workers who were borne on

the muster roll on

March 13, 1959 would be entitled to three

days'

closure holidays. Agreeing with the Tribunl. we,

therefore, uphold

the Award and dismiss the

appeal

with oosts.

Appeal dJsm-!ssed.

.(