PER SOMNATH AYYAR, J.

( 1 ) ACHUTHA Achar who was a goldsmith in Mangalore is the petitioner before us. He made a complaint that he was a workman in a firm known as the Sharada Jewellery Mart in Mangalore and that his services were illegally terminated. In consequence there was a reference under S. 10 (1) (c) of the Industrial Disputes Act to the labour court which posed the question whether he was entitled to reinstatement with back-wages and other reliefs. The management denied that achutha Achar was a workman and asserted that he was only an independent contractor. The labour court which accepted this contention rejected the reference declining jurisdiction. It is this decision of the labour court which is called in question by the petitioner who asks us to quash it by certiorari.

( 2 ) THE labour court discussed the evidence given by Rameshachari on behalf of the management and that given by Achutha Achar and his witness vittal. Rameshachari on behalf of the management gave evidence that, according to the course of business obtaining in his firm, gold would be entrusted to the goldsmiths for making jewels of which a record was made in what is called a workers' memo. It was sa

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