Appeals Nos 2136 and 2295 of 1966
Appeals from the judgment and order dated February 2 1965 of the Bombay High Court Nagpur Bench in Special Civil Applications Nos 246 of 1964 and 84 of 1963 respectively
G B Pai P C Bhartari J B Dadachanji 0
C Mathur and Ravinder Narain for the appellant in CA No 2136 of 1966
section V Gupte C N Nagle and A G Ratnaparkhi for the appellant in CA No 2295 of 1966
M C Bhandare F P Sathe Praveen Pareek Vineet Kumar and Indira Jai Singh for respondents Nos
131 to 142 144 to 478 480 to 488 490 and 492 in CA No 2136 of 1966
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by Mitter J
The main question in these two appeals by certi ficate is whether the Labour Court bad jurisdiction to entertain the application for lay off compensation under section 33 C2 of the Industrial Disputes Act
The appellant in the first appeal is a 582 limited company which is now under liquidation while the appellant in the second is a partnership firm the respondents in the two appeals being the Labour Court and different groups of workmen
The facts are as follows
In Hinganghat there was a textile mill known as R B Bansilal Abirchand Mills which used to employ about 1000 men
The mill was owned by the firm the appellant in the Second appeal
A fire broke out in the mill on March 27 1959 doing appreciable damage to some of the machines
The employers put up a notice under their Standing Order No 19 on March 28 1959 to the effect that the fire of the previous night had caused heavy loss and extensive damage to the departments rendering the mill s working impracticable until necessary repairs and adjustments were carried out
The employees were however to note that the folding and workshop departments would continue to work as usual and notice of resumption of mill s working would be posted after necessary adjustment and repairs were carried out
This was followed by a second notice issued on April 2 1959 to the effect that the pre liminary survey of the fire have in conjunction with the insurance companies had shown that over 60 per cent of the machines in the carding
fly frame and Ring frame departments had been damaged and that the damage to the bulk of these machines was such that they might require complete replacement
It was further announced that in the circumstances the Management had no alternative but to declare stoppage of work of all the productive departments of the mills
Although it is not possible to be precise as to the extent of the damage caused a fair idea of it can be had from a letter of Hukumchand Insurance Company Ltd dated August 28 1959 stating that the loss to buildings machinery and accessories had been determined at Rs 22624 by the surveyors
It appears that on 27th April 1960 the representatives of the insurance companies had agreed to re assessment increasing the figure for repairs to Rs 37420 
The third notice put up by the firm on April 29 1960 gave no indication of the date of completion of the repairs
On September 13 1960 the firm notified that the departments of the mills which had remained unproductive since 28th March 1959 were expected to commence working on or about 30th September 1960
The firm did not however work the mills in terms of the last notice but transferred the same to the company which had been incorporated on 8th December 1959
It appears that the consideration for the transfer was Rs 3475000 made up of 583 Rs 1150000 being the value of the immovable properties and Rs 2325000 being the value of movable properties
Compared to the second figure the damage to the machinery as assessed by the insurance companies is insignificant
The first notice of 28th March 1959 brings out the fact that the work in the mill as a whole was not
brought to a stand still and that it was to continue as usual in the folding and workshop departments
According to the second notice the preliminary survey had shown that over 60 per cent of the machines in only three departments namely carding fly frame and ring frame had been damaged and that complete replacement of some of the above might be necessary
The notices do not make out the case that the damage was such that it was not possible to run the mills it all
Towards the end of 1961 and the be inning of 1962 respon dents 2 to 346 in Civil Appeal No 2295 of 1966 presented applications under section 33 C2 of the Industrial Disputes Act to the Labour Court at Nagpur claiming to have been laid off from 28th March 1959 to 30th September 1960
The appellants in the second appeal filed a written statement before the Labour Court contending inter alia that the Labour Court had no jurisdiction under section 33 C2 and that the parties had to work out their rights within the four corners of the State Act ie the CP and Berar Industrial Disputes Settlement Act 1947
By order dated 30th November 1962 the preliminary objection as to jurisdiction of the employers was rejected by the Labour Court
On this the appellants preferred an application under article 226 of the Constitution of India before the Bombay High Court
By a common judgment rendered on 25th August 1962 the High Court rejected the contentions of the appellants that the claim under the Industrial Disputes Act was not maintainable because of the operation of the State Act and further held that the Labour Court was competent to adjudicate on the merits of the claim of the workers even where the employer disputed not only the jurisdiction of the said court but also disputed that there was any lay off as claimed and that the applicants were not workmen within the meaning of the Act
The appellants who were petitioners before the High Court did not proceed further in the matter by applying for a certificate that the case was fit for appeal to this Court
By order dated November 30 1962 the Labour Court dismissed as barred by the principles of res judicata 125 applications of some of the workers who had previously applied to the Labour Court at Bombay and whose applications had been subsequently dismissed by the Labour Judge Bombay on the ground of lack of jurisdiction under section 33 C of the Industrial Disputes Act
The claim dismissed related to the period between March 28 1959 and May 584 2 1960
The Labour Court allowed the claims relating to the period from May 3 1960 to September 30 1960 and ordered the issue of certificates of recovery under section 33 C of the Act
Respondents 2 to 493 in Appeal No 21361966 filed appli cations under section 33 C in the Labour Court at Nagpur claiming lay off compensation for the period 28th March 1959 to September 30 1960
The Labour Court held by order dated February 29 1964 that there had been a lay off within the meaning of section 2kkk of the Industrial Disputes Act and that the employees were entitled to compensation for the full period of 18 months but workers who were badli workers were not entitled to such compensation
The appellants in both the appeals preferred writ petitions before the High Court of Bombay for quashing the order of the Labour Court
The two writ petitions were disposed of by the High Court by a common judgment on February 2 1965
Before the High Court four main points were raised namely 1
Whether having regard to the circumstances and the established facts there had been a lay off within the meaning of the expression in section 2kkk  2
If there had been a lay off whether compensation under section 25 C read with section 25 E of the Act was payable to the workers also whether the workers were not entitled to compensation because of non fulfilment of conditions prescribed in section 25 E  3
Whether badli workers were entitled to lay oil  compen sation and 4
Whether the quantum of compensation would be governed by the first proviso to section 25 C or whether section 25 Cii would be applicable entitling the workers to compensation for the full period of the lay off ie 28 3 59 to 30 9 1960  On the first question the High Court held that by every indication and circumstance and by express declaration of its management it was a running industry meaning thereby that there was no closure
On the second question the High Court held that the Labour Court should have considered whether the workmen had proved that they had presented themselves for work or not in terms of section 25 E to be able to claim compensation under section 25 C excepting with regard to three workmen who cave clear evidence on the point
It also held that badli labour were not entitled to lay off compensation
It turned down the contention that compensation was claimable only in terms of the Standing Orders of the Mill
In the result the High Court remanded the 585 matters back to the Labour Court for recording fresh evidence on behalf of both the parties on the following issue  Do the applicants prove that they presented themselves for work at the appointed time at least once a day within the meaning of section 25 Eii On the applications of the appellants the High Court granted certificates under article 1331 a of the Constitution
Before us learned counsel for the respondents Mr Bhandare sought to resist the main contention of the appellants by urging that the decision of the High Court in 1962 operated as res judicata in the present appeals
He said that it was open to the appellants to challenge the conclusion of the High Court arrived at in 1962 by moving the High Court by an application for the issue of a certificate of fitness for appeal to this Court and in the event of refusal thereof to ask for special leave of this Court
In the absence of such applications the determination of the High Court in 1962 had become final and the question as to jurisdiction could not be canvassed again
We do not think it necessary to go into this question as the matter can be disposed of even on the basis that it is open to the appellants to raise the question of jurisdiction before this Court although the point was not expressly taken in the grounds for leave to appeal to this Court before the High Court
The substantial point of Mr Gupte appearing for one set of appellants was that it being the case of the employers that there had been a closure of the mills the dispute could not be adjudicated upon by a Labour Court and was entertainable only by an Industrial Tribunal under the provisions of section 101 d of the Act
Mr Gupte drew our attention to various sections of the Act in support of his contention that an industrial dispute meant primarily a dispute or difference between employers on the one hand and employees on the other connected with the employment or non employment or the terms of employment etc
of any person
He urged that the basic underlying idea was that to be an industrial dispute the dispute had to be one which affected the employee  is a class as pitted against their employers
He argued that individual workman could only approach the Labour Court for lay off compensation when prima facie there was no question of closure of the industry by the employers and drew our attention to the definition of lay off  ins2kkk
According to him in a situation like the present where the inability on the part of the employer to give employment was not limited to a handful of persons but extended to the employees wholesale arising out of a calamity it could not be said that there had been a lay off of the employees
Although the word closure  is not defined in the Act counsel 586 argued that the expression would aptly describe the condition prevailing in the mills as a result of the fire on March 27 1959
We find ourselves unable to accept Mr Gupte s contention
We may in this connection refer to the relevant provisions in the Act
The authorities under the Act are specified in different sections of Chapter II containing sections 3 to 9
Under section 7 it is open to the appropriate Government by notification in the Official Gazette constitute one or more Labour Courts for the adjudication of industrial disputes relating to any matters specified in the Second Schedule and for performing such other functions as may be assigned to them under the Act
Under section 7 A the appropriate Government may by notification constitute one or more Industrial Tribunals for the adjudication of industrial disputes relating to any matter whether specified in the Second Schedule or the Third Schedule
In the Second Schedule are set forth certain matters in items 1 to 5 which are within the jurisdiction of a Labour Court and item 6 gives the Labour Court jurisdiction to deal with all matters other than those specified in the Third Schedule
The Third Schedule contains 11 items of which item 10 reads  Retrenchment of workmen and closure of establishment
Lay off is not expressly covered by either of the two Schedules
It would therefore be a matter covered by the Second Schedule tinder item 6 thereof
section 10 1 c enables the appropriate Government when it is of opinion that an industrial dispute exists or is apprehended inter alia to refer the dispute or any matter appearing to be connected with or relevant to the dispute if it relates to any matter specified in the Second Schedule to a Labour Court for adjudication
So far as an Industrial Tribunal is concerned the appropriate Government may under section 101d make reference to it not only in cases covered by the Second Schedule but also those included in the Third Schedule except that when the dispute relates to any matter in the Third Schedule and is not likely to affect more than one hundred workmen the appropriate Government may if it thinks fit make a reference to a Labour Court tinder cl
According to Mr Gupte Chapter V A of the Act introduced in the year 1953 providing for claims being preferred by individual workmen to compensation could only be resorted to when the dispute was such as would not call for a reference under section 10 1 d
He urged further that it being open to the Central Government to amend the Second and the Third Schedules by issue of notification under section 40 of the Act so long as the said Schedules stood unaltered it should be presumed that the legislature did not intend a Labour Court to exercise its jurisdiction in cases where there was 587 a serious question of closure of an establishment put forward by the employers
All this argued counsel went to show that if the essential nature of the dispute was a difference between the employer on the one hand and a very large body of workmen on the other the employer making an assertion involving a matter covered by the Third Schedule to the Act it would not be open to the workmen to prefer claims individually under section 33 C
The ambit of section 33 C has been examined by this Court on a number of occasions and reference may usefully be made to some of the authorities in this connection to find out whether the Labour Court was within its jurisdiction to entertain the applications which were followed by the writ petitions to the Bombay High Court
in Central Bank of India Ltd vs P section Rajagopalan1 the legislative history of section 33 C was gone into at length and the conclusion of this Court on the scope thereof was as follows see p 150 The legislative history to which we have just referred clearly indicates that having provided broadly for the investigation and settlement of industrial disputes on the basis of collective bargaining the legislature recognised that individual workmen should be given a speedy remedy to enforce their existing individual rights and so inserted section 33 A in the Act in 1950 and added section 33 C in 1956
These two provisions illustrate the cases in which individual workmen can enforce their rights without having to take recourse to section 101 of the Act or without having to depend upon their Union to espouse their cause
Therefore in construing section 33 C we have to bear in mind two relevant considerations
The construction should not be so broad as to bring within the scope of section 33 C cases which would fall under section 101
Where industrial disputes arise between employees acting collectively and their employers they must be adjudicated upon in the manner prescribed by the Act as for instance by reference under section 101
These disputes cannot be brought within the purview of section 33 C Similarly having regard to the fact that the policy of the Legislature in enacting section 33 C is to provide a speedy remedy to the individual workmen to enforce or execute their existing rights it would not be reasonable to exclude from the scope of this section cases of existing rights which are sought to be implemented by individual workmen
 Turning down the contention put forward on behalf of the em ployers there that computation under section 33 C2 would only be 1  588 possible where the right of the workman to receive the benefit was not disputed it was said  The claim under section 33 C2 clearly postulates that the determination of the question about computing the benefit in terms of money may in some cases have to be preceded by an enquiry into the existence of the right and such an enquiry might be held to be incidental to the main determination which has been assigned to the Labour Court by sub section
As Maxwell has observed  where an Act confers jurisdiction it impliedly also grants the power of doing all such acts or employing such means as are essentially necessary to its executions Accordingly it was held that section 33 C2 took within the purview cases of workmen who claimed that the benefit to which they are entitled should be computed in terms of money even though the right to the benefit on which their claim is based is disputed by their employers
Following the above decision it was held in Mining Engineer vs Rameshwar1 that sub section
2 of section 33 C was not confined to cases arising under an award settlement or even under the provisions of Chapter V A of the Act and the benefit provided in the bonus scheme under the Coal Mines Provident Fund and Bonus Schemes Act 1948 would be covered by sub section
Section 25 C provides for the measures of compensation to be awarded in cases of lay off of workers
section 25 F of the Act however provides inter alia that no compensation shall be paid to a workman who has been laid off if he does not present himself for work at the establishment at the appointed time during the normal working hours at least once a day
The claim to compensation of every workman who is laid off is one which arises under the statute itself and section 25 C provides for a benefit to the workman which is capable of being computed in terms of money under section 33 C2 of the Act
The scheme of the Act being to enable a workman to approach a Labour Court oil computation of the compensation claimed by him in terms of section 25 C of the Act he is not concerned to see whether other co workers will or will not adopt the same course
The fact that a number of workers make claims of identical nature ie to compensation for lay off arising out of the same set of facts and circumstances cannot make any difference to the individual workman who prefers the claim
The mere fact that a large number of persons makes a claim of the same nature against the employer does not change 1 1968 1 SCR 140
589 the nature of the dispute so as to take it out of the pale of section 7 of the Act and render the dispute one which can only be dealt with by an Industrial Tribunal to which reference can be made by the appropriate Government
Reference was however made to the decision of UP Electric Supply Co vs R K Shukla1 in aid of the contention for the appellants that if the dispute touches a matter in the Third Schedule the Labour Court will not have jurisdiction to
deal with it
In this case the State Electricity Board UP took over the undertaking of the company from September 16 1964 in exercise of power under sec
6 of the and under the provisions of the appellants  licences
As a result thereof the company ceased to carry on the business of generation and distri bution of electricity thereafter
On September 16 1964 the Board issued letters of appointment to the employees of the appellant in the posts and positions which they had previously held
According to the respondents they were not given credit for their past services with the company
All the workmen of the two undertakings were taken over in the employment of the Board with effect from September 17 1964
443 workmen employed in the Allahabad undertaking filed applications before the Labour Court under section 6 H2 of the UP for payment of retrenchment compensation and salary in lieu of notice
The orders for payment of retrenchment compensation were resisted by the company inter alia on the ground that the workmen were not in fact retrenched and in any event since they were admitted to the service of the Board on terms not less favorable than those enjoyed before the company was under no liability to pay retrenchment compensation and the Labour Court was incompetent to entertain and decide the applications for awarding such compensation
On the above facts the Court in the appeal by special leave observed the Company had expressly raised a contention that they had not retrenched the workmen and that the workmen had voluntarily abandoned the Company s service by seeking employment with the Board even before the Company closed its working
 Reliance was however placed on certain passages in the judgment at p 513 and at p 517 which according to counsel for the appellants went to show that when the factum of retrenchment is questioned there is a dispute which is exclusively within the competence of the Industrial Tribunal
These observation cannot be considered binding on us as all the aspects were not placed before the Court then
Reference was also made to the case of Ramakrishna Ramanath vs Presiding Officer Nagpur2
In that case the appellant bad 1 1970 1 S CR 507
7 L643 Sup
CI72 2 590 issued a notice in writing on the 1st July 1958 following the issue of a notification by the Government of Bombay under section 5 2 read with section 51 of the to the effect that it had been forced to close its factory as from the 1st of July 1958 by the action of the Bombay Government in issuing the said notification inasmuch as minimum rates of wages made payable as from 1st July 1958 were so excessive and unworkable that it was impossible for any employer to give effect to them and the notification had made the working of the business a financial impossibility
The workers were also informed that the closure of the business would continue as long as the notification dated 11th June 1958 continued in force
The Government of Bombay withdrew the notification after some time and the appellants started to work the factory from 10th August 1958 taking in all employees who were there before 1st July
The respondent No 2 put in an application before the Presiding Officer Labour Court Nagpur on 5th November 1963 claiming Rs 33480 on account of retrenchment compensation and one month s pay in lieu of notice
The appellant put in its written statement inter alia contending that the said respondent was not an employee but an independent contractor and that there had been no closure of the business to attract section 25 FFF of the Act and that in any event the dispute could not be referred to a Labour Court
In the appeal by special leave to this Court it was contended inter alia a that the dispute did not fall within the jurisdiction of the Labour Court but within that of an Industrial Tribunal b that there was really no closure of the appellant s business but only a lock out or a temporary stoppage of work not attracting the operation of section 25 FFF and c that in order that the respondent could claim
the benefit of 25 F it was obligatory on her to show that she had worked for 240 days in each year of service for which the claim was made
This Court found that the appellant had not taken the plea in its written statement and that there had been a lay off or a lock out and that it had only submitted that the closure in accordance with the notice did not fall within the scope of section 25 FFF of the Act
By issues 6 and 7 the appellant raised questions as to whether the closure had resulted in the retrenchment of the applicant and whether the closure was beyond the control of the employer
No dispute was raised about the factum of closure
Strangely enough it was urged before this Court that there could be no closure because the appellant was merely protesting against irresponsible action of the Government action and had no intention to close the business permanently
 The Court found that the question of lock out was not mooted when the issues were settled nor had any plea been taken that there had been a temporary cessation of work under Standing Order No 11
In our view the observations in this case do not help the appellants before us
591 In Sawatram Mills vs Baliram1 the claim of the workmen for lay off during a certain period before the Second Labour Court Bombay was resisted inter alia on the ground that the said court had no jurisdiction as the dispute fell to be tried under the CP and Berar Industrial Disputes Settlement Act 1947 and secondly the application under section 33 C was incompetent because it was not a claim for money due and calculations had to be made for ascertaining the sum due
On a construction of the sections of the industrial Disputes Act this Court held that  Compensation for lay off could only be determined under Chapter V A of the and the workmen were entitled under section 3 3 C 1 to go before the Second Labour Court to realise moneys due from their employers under Chapter V A The Court also negatived the contention that the did not apply but the CP and Berar Industrial Disputes Settlement Act did as the State Act made no mention of lay off or compensation for lay off
The other argument was rejected following the judgment in Kays Construction Co P Ltd vs State of UP  ors
In substance the point urged by the appellants was that if a claim is made on the basis of a lay off and the employer contends that there was no lay off but closure it is not open to a labour court to entertain an application under section 33 C2
The more so it was stated when the dispute was not between a solitary workman on the one hand and the employer on the other but a whole body of workmen ranged against their employer who was faced with numerous application  before the Labour Court for computation of benefit in terms of money
As has been said already the Labour Court must go into the matter and come to a decision as to whether there was really a closure or a lay off
If it took the view that there was a lay off without any closure of the business it would be acting within its jurisdiction  if it awarded compensation in terms of the provisions of Chapter V A
In our opinion the High Court s conclusion that In fact the business of this Company was continuing
They in fact continued to employ several employees
their notices say that some portions of the mills would continue to work was unexceptionable
The notices which we have referred to can only lead to the above conclusion
The Labour Court s jurisdiction could not be ousted by a mere plea denying the workman s claim to the computation of lie benefit in terms of money the 1 1966 I SCR 764
2  592 Labour Court had to go into the question and determine whether on the facts it had jurisdiction to make the computation
It could not however give itself jurisdiction by a wrong decision on the jurisdiction plea
Appearing for the appellant in Civil Appeal No 213666 Mr Pai contended that his clients  liability would only commence after the 1st October 1960 when it started to run the mill
This point had not been canvassed before the High Court and consequently we cannot entertain it
In the second case Mr Gupte argued that although his client did not raise the question of liability before there was no question of any concession and he should be allowed to contest his liability on the basis of the application preferred for urging additional grounds before this Court
As this point was not urged in the court below this application must be refused
The last point urged was that in view of Standing Orders 19 and 21 the quantum of compensation had to be scaled down or measured in terms of the Standing Order 19 the employer could in the event of fire breakdown of machinery etc
stop any machine or machines or department or departments wholly or partially or the whole or a part of the establishment for any period without notice and without compensation in lieu of notice
Under Standing Order 21 any operative played off under Standing Order 19 was not to be considered as dismissed from service but as temporarily unemployed and was not to be entitled to wages  during such unemployment except to the extent mentioned in Standing Order No 19
The High Court rightly turned down the contention in view of section 25 J of the Act under which the provisions of Chapter V A are to have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law including Standing Orders made under the 
These appeals were originally heard by a Bench of five Judges including section C Roy J who expired a few days back
The above judgment was concurred in by our late colleague
We however gave a further hearing to the parties at which nothing was addressed to us to make us change our opinion already formed
In the result the appeals fail and are dismissed with costs
One set of hearing fee
SC Appeals dismissed


Summary:
A textile mill in Madhya Pradesh employed about a thousand workers
The mill was owned by a firm the appellant in the Second Appeal
A fire broke out in the Mill doing appreciable damage to some of the machines
From a letter of the Insurance company the extent of the damage caused was ascertained to be about Rs 37420 
In terms of the last notice given by the employers the mills did not commence work but instead the management transferred the mills to the company which had been incorporated on 8th December 1959
From the facts it was clear that the damage to the machinery was insignificant as against the total assets transferred to the company and the damage was not such that it was not possible to run the mills at all
Respondents 2 to 346 in the Second Appeal applied under section 33C2 of the Industrial Disputes Act to the Labour Court claiming lay off compensation for the period they remained idle
The Labour Court held that there had been a lay off within the meaning of section 2K KK of Industrial Disputes Act and except badli  workers the employees were entitled to compensation for the full period of 18 months
The appellants in both the appeals filed writ petitions before the High Court for quashing the order of the Labour Court and the High Court raised several issues and ultimately remanded the matters back to the Labour Court for recording fresh evidence as to whether the applicants presented themselves for work at the appointed time at least once a day within the meaning of section 25Eii
On the application of the appellants the High Court granted certificates under article 133 1 a of the Constitution
The point urged by the appellants was that if a claim is made on the basis of a lay off and the employer contends that there was no lay off but closure it is open to a labour court to entertain an application under section 33C2
It is more so when the dispute was not between a solitary workman on the one hand and the employer on the other but a whole body of workmen ranged against their employer who was faced with numerous applications before the labour court for computation of benefit in terms of money
Dismissing the appeals HELD  i From the facts and circumstances of the Case it was clear that the business of the company was continuing
They in fact continued to employ several employees and their notices say that some portion of the mills would continue to work
The Labour Court s jurisdiction could not be ousted by a mere plea denying the workmen s claim to the computation of benefit in terms of money
The Labour Court must go into the matter and come to a decision as to whether there was really a closure or a lay off
If it took the view that there was a lay off it would be acting within its jurisdiction if it awarded compensation in terms of the provisions in Ch
The High Court is right in upholding the decision of the Court
591 E H 581 ii Section 33C2 takes within the purview rases of workmen who claim that the benefits to which they were entitled should be computed in terms of money even though the right to the benefit on which their claim is based is disputed by their employers
In other words the Labour Court may enquire into all such acts or disputes which are incidental to the main dispute 588 C D iii Section 25C provides for the measure of compensation to be awarded in cases of lay off of workers
The claim to compensation of every workman who is laid off is one which arises under the statute itself and section 25C provides for a benefit to the workman which is capable of being computed in terms of money under section 33C2 of the Act
The scheme of the Act is that an individual workman can approach a labour court for computation of compensation in terms of section 25C of the Act and he is not concerned to see whether other co workers will adopt the same course or not
The fact that a number of workers make claims of identical nature cannot make any difference to the individual workman who prefers the claim The mere fact that a large number of persons makes a claim of the same nature against the employer does not change the nature of the dispute so as to take it out of the pale of section 7 of the Act and render the dispute one which can only be dealt with by an industrial tribunal
588 E H Central Bank of India Ltd vs P section Rajagopalan   followed
 Mining Engineer vs Rameshwar 1968 1 SCR 140 UP Electric Supply Co vs R K Shukla   Ramkrishna Ramnath vs Presiding Officer Nagpur and Sawatram Mills vs Baliram 1966 1 SCR 764 referred to and distinguished