JUDGMENT

GOSWAMI, J. :—A complaint was made to the Labour Court by the respondent, Mazdoor Mahajan Mandal, Baroda (briefly the union) alleging the lock-out declared by the appellant to be illegal. The appellant, Priya Laxmi Mills Ltd. (briefly the management) resisted the petition. After examining the oral and documentary evidence the Labour Court came to the conclusion that the lock-out was illegal under clauses (c) and (h) of sub-section (1) of Section 98 of the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946 (briefly the Act).

2. A brief reference to the facts will be appropriate at this stage.

3. The present appellant purchased this textile mill from M/s. Sayaji Mills Ltd. in 1973 when it had about 3500 workmen besides officers. It is said that in 1974 the textile industry suffered adverse market conditions, accumulation of stocks, shortage of raw materials and bank credit squeeze in consequence of which the management started experiencing acute financial difficulties which were aggravated by a spate of litigations between the appellant and the previous owners. The appellant somehow continued to pay the wages of the workmen upto February 1975 although in an irregular manner.

4. The mill works in three shifts. By a notice of April 13, 1975, the management notified a lay-off from the first shift of April 14, 1975, till further notice. The lay off was in the departments of spinning, weaving grey folding and engineering as per the lists containing the names of the workmen and the members of the staff connected therewith. Other departments, however, were allowed to continue to work as usual. It was mentioned in the notice of lay-off that a workman, if eligible, shall be paid lay-off compensation as provided under the law. The permanent workmen of laid-off departments who were eligible to get compensation under the law were required to present themselves in the respective departments as the start of their respective shifts and get themselves marked as laid off", naturally, therefore, although the workmen were laid off they had to attend the mill premises for being marked present at the time of the commencement of the shift in order to be able to claim lay-off, compensation. In view of the mounting tension on account of irregular payment of wages for quite some time and the subsequent lay off, negotiations were also afoot between the management and the union without much headway.

5. According to the management the workmen refused to accept the decision of lay off and they continued to remain inside the mill premises even after getting their presence marked. Some employees remained in the department while a large number of them collected outside the department and refused to go out of the mill premises. It is said that the workmen started staging a "Dharna" daily in the administrative office of the mills thereby disrupting its normal and smooth working. This state of affairs continued from April 14, 1975 to April 21, 1975. The workmen did not pay and heed to the request of the management to leave the premises after they had been marked present. In this background, on April 21, 1975, at about 4.00 P.M. a section of the workmen forcibly entered the Guest House No. 2 and trespassed into the living room of Shri L. Grover. Establishment Officer of the mills, dragged him out of the room and took him into the administrative office and kept him there under restraint and illegal confinement for about 24 hours. The workmen also removed the personal belongings of Shri Grover. They also gheraoed and kept under restraint and illegal confinement the Deputy Executive Director. Shri V. E. Bagla, the Deputy Chief Executive (Works) Shri S. C. Gandhi and other senior officers in the mill premises with effect from 7.00 P.M. on April 31, 1975. The officers were kept in illegal confinement without food and other basic amenties of life continuously for 21 hours. It is said that the officers were abused and humiliated. The workers also held out threats to their lives