S. 25F(c) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, which requires the employer to serve a notice on the appropriate Government before retrenching an employee, is not a condition precedent for valid retrenchment.

Judgment

GAJENDRAGADKAR, J. : The principal point of law which this appeal raises for our decision relates to the construction of S. 25F (c) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (No. 14 of 1947) (hereinafter called the Act). The Bombay Union of Journalists which is the Trade Union registered under the Trade Unions Act, 1926, Mrs. Aruna Mukherji and Mr. T. Thomas are appellant 1 to 3; and the State of Bombay, and the Indian National Press, Bombay, which is a private Ltd. Co, are respondents 1 and 2 respectively in the present appeal. Appellant No. 2 was appointed on the staff of the second respondent on a salary of Rs. 500/- p.m. with effect from January 1, 1955. On November 30, 1957, she was served with a notice of termination of her services with effect from December 1, 1957. The notice recited the fact that the management in consultation with the Editor had decided to retrench her services. Appellant No. 3 Mr. Thomas who was employed as a Sub-Editor in the Free Press Journal some time in 1953, was similarly served with a notice of retrenchment dated November 30, 1957 by which his services were terminated as from December 1, 1957. In both the Notices the two appellants respectively were told that their services had been retrenched under S. 3(2) of the Working Journalists (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1955. and that in lieu of notice they would be paid their salaries for three months. Both the appellants collected their salaries for the month of November and ceased to work for respondent No. 2 as from December 1, 1957.

2. It appears that appellant No. 1 took up their cause on December 3, 1957 and wrote to the director-in-charge of the second respondent complaining that the action taken by the 2nd respondent smacked of vindictiveness against appellants 2 and 3, and demanded that the notices issued should be withdrawn forthwith and they should be reinstated in their original posts. Respondent No. 2 did not concede the said demand; thereupon, appellant No. 1 moved the Labour Commissioner of respondent No. 1 for taking further action in the matter. At that stage, the Conciliation Officer intervened and called the parties before him. As a result of the discussion held before the Conciliation Officer, it was discovered that no settlement was possible, and so, the Conciliation Officer submitted a failure report under S. 12 (4) of the Act on April 15, 1958. In this report, the Conciliation Officer expressed his opinion that in view of the stand taken by the parties, there was no possibility of any settlement, and so, he was compelled to record a failure.

3. After the matter was thus reported to respondent No. 1 by its Conciliation Officer, both the parties filed their respective statements before respondent No. 1. Respondent No. 1 considered the said statements and the report submitted by the Conciliation Officer and came to the conclusion that it was not necessary to refer the dispute to a Tribunal under S. 12 (5) of the Act. This decision was communicated to the appellants by the Dy. Secretary, Labour and Social Welfare Department of respondent No. 1 by his letter dated July 1, 1958. It is necessary to set out the reasons given in this letter for not referring the dispute to the Tribunal. These reasons were set out in the letter in these terms:-

"1. The termination of services of Shrimati Aruna Mukherji and Shri M. T. Thomas appears to be an act of retrenchment on the part of the management for which the management is willing to pay all the legal dues to the retrenched persons; and

2. in effecting the said termination the management does not appear to have acted mala fide or vindictively nor practised victimisation for trade union activities.

4. The appellants then moved the Bombay High Court under Art. 226 of the Constitution for a writ of mandamus against respondent No. 1, It was urged on their behalf that the refusal of respondent No. 1 to refer the dispute to the Industrial Tribunal under S. 12(5) of the