Judgment

GAJENDRAGADKAR, J. : The short question of law which falls to be decided in the present appeal is whether a dispute raised by the employees of a General Insurance Company against their employer for payment of bonus in any particular year can be referred for adjudication by an Industrial Tribunal under S. 10(1) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (XIV of 1947). This question arises in this way. The workmen of the Hercules Insurance Co. Ltd. are the appellants and the Insurance Company is the respondent before us. On April 11, 1957, the Central Government referred the appellants claim for bonus for the years 1954 and 1955 for adjudication to the Industrial Tribunal, Dhanbad, constituted under S. 7A of the Industrial Disputes Act, and this reference has been made under S. 10(1)(d) of the Act. Before the Tribunal the respondent urged a preliminary objection against the validity of the reference itself. Its case was that the payment of bonus by an Insurance Company is conditioned entirely by the relevant provisions of the Insurance Act, 1938 (IV of 1938), and that the said provisions did not justify the reference of a dispute in that behalf for adjudication by any Industrial T