Judgment

CHINNAPPA REDDY, J.:- The first respondent is a company engaged in the manufacture of sugar and employing over 1100 workers, 300 of them on a permanent basis and 800 on a seasonal basis. The permanent employees are those employed on the clerical side and in the operation and maintenance of machines. The other 800 employees are seasonal employees who are so employed because the factory itself does not work throughout the year but works during a certain season every year from December when the sugarcane crop is ready for crushing until the crushing is over. The employer refused to pay bonus to the seasonal employees during the year 1964-65 on the ground that they were not employed throughout the year. A dispute arose between the management and the Mazdoor Sangh which was referred to the Industrial Court Madhya Pradesh, Indore for arbitration under Sec. 49 of the Madhya Pradesh Industrial Relations Act. The Industrial Court decided in favour of the workers, but on a writ petition filed by the company, the award of the arbitrator was quashed and it was held that the workers were only entitled to proportionate bonus and not the minimum bonus guaranteed by Sec. 10 of the Payment