Judgment

CHINNAPPA REDDY, J.:- Shri Raju Ramachandran appearing for an employee who claims that a sum of Rs. 5712.61 p. is due to him from the Lord Krishna Textile Mill, out of which a sum of Rs. 3722.20p had become due before the take over of management of the Mill under the Sick Textile Undertakings (Taking Over of Management) Act made a concise, but interesting submission that the low priority given to amounts due to employees relating to the pre-take-over management period in the Second Schedule of the Sick Textile Undertakings (Nationalisation) Act was unconstitutional both because it did not sub-serve the object of giving effect to the policy of the State towards securing the directive principle specified in Art. 39(b) of the Constitution and also because the classification had no nexus with the object of the statute as stated in the Preamble.

2. Section 21 of the Sick Textile Undertakings (Nationalisation) Act is as follows : -

"21. The claims arising out of the matters specified in the Second Schedule shall have priorities in accordance with the following principles, namely : -

(a) category I will have precedence over all other categories and category II will have precedence ov