Judgment

VIVIAN BOSE, J. : These appeals arise out of petitions made to the Bombay High Court under Art. 226 for writs of certiorari.

2. The appellant is the manager of the Tata Mills Limited, which carries on business in the manufacture and sale of textile goods in Bombay and as such is responsible for the payment of wages under the Payment of Wages Act, 1936.

3. The first respondent was the Authority under the Payment of Wages Act at the times material to these appeals. The sixth respondent is the present Authority. The Authority is entrusted with the duty of deciding cases failing within the purview of the Act.

4. The second, third, fourth and fifth respondents are employees in the Mills.

5. A dispute arose about a claim made by the operatives of the Mills for a bonus for the year 1948. This was referred to the Industrial Court at Bombay which made an award on 23rd April 1949, and awarded a bonus equivalent to four and a half months wages subject to certain conditions of which only the sixth is material here. It runs as follows :

"Persons who are eligible for bonus but who are not in the service of the Mills on the date of the payment shall be paid in one lump sum by the 30th November