JUDGMENT - DHANUKA D.R., J.:---This petition is directed against order dated 23rd September, 1987 passed by the Assistant Commissioner of Labour, Bombay (Shri A.G. Naik), a copy whereof is Exhibit 'K' to the petition. The short facts and circumstances leading to the filing of this petition are as under :

2. On 19th March, 1957, the petitioner No. 2 was employed as clerk by Kohinoor Mills Co. Ltd. (respondent No. 4 herein). On 1st October, 1960, the petitioner No. 1 was employed as clerk by the very same company, i.e. respondent No. 4 herein. On 18th October, 1983, the President of India issue an Ordinance known as "The Textile Undertakings (Taking Over of Management) Ordinance, 1983" whereby the management of several textile undertakings, including Kohinoor Mills, was taken over by the Central Government. The National Textile Corporation (South Maharashtra) Ltd., Bombay (respondent No. 3 herein), is an Additional Custodian of the Undertaking known as "Kohinoor Mills".

3. On 13th February, 1985, the Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh, a representative Union of the local areas of the cotton textile industry in Greater Bombay, sent an approach notice under section 42(4) of the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946, in respect of 1,654 employees, including the petitioners, on the basis that the management had illegally refused to assign work to the said workmen. Ultimately, on 1st April, 1985. Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh filed an application under sections 78 and 79 of the above-referred Act against the management and applied for interim relief. By an order dated 26th August, 1986, the Presiding Officer, 3rd Labour Court, Bombay, passed an interim order on the said application, which reads as under :-

"The application is partly allowed.

It is hereby directed that the opposite parties should assign or give the usual work in the various departments of the Kohinoor Mills Nos. 1 and 2 on the pay, wages or salaries as before 18-1-1982 to 'these employees' mentioned in Annexure 'A' during the pendency of the main application and subject of its final decision. The opposite parties are given the period of 2 months from today to make the necessary arrangement of giving the work to these employees. On any date to be intimated well in advance by the opposite parties to the Union before expiry of the period of 2 months 25-10-1986, the opposite parties should give the work to those employees from the list Annexure A whosoever would remain present. If it is not possible for the opposite parties to give the work to all those employees whosoever would remain present on the dates fixed by them or at the most on 25-10-1986 then it will be treated that all the employees are on duty with full back wages and accordingly they would be entitled to get the wages."

4. The petitioners seek to recover a sum of Rs. 1,01,636.15 P. and Rs. 1,01,567.32 P. jointly and severally from the National Textile Corporation (South Maharashtra) Ltd., Bombay (respondent No. 3 herein) and Kohinoor Mills Co. Ltd., Bombay (respondent No. 4 herein) for the period 1st January, 1982 to 30th April, 1987 in execution of the said interim order dated 26th August, 1986. The petitioners also claimed salary for the month of June, 1987 by addressing letters to the Chief Executive Officer of Kohinoor Mills Unions Nos. 1 and 2 on 12th July, 1987. Copies of the said letters are annexed to the petitions as Exhibits 'H' and 'I'. The petitioners approached the Assistant Commissioner of Labour for issue of recovery certificate, under section 33-C(1) of the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947.

5. On 18th August, 1987, the petitioners filed this petition for issue of a writ of mandamus directing the Assistant Commissioner of Labour, Bombay (respondent No. 2 herein) to issue recovery certificate for the amounts claimed by the petitioners for the period 1st January, 1982 to 30th April, 1987 and for the months of May and June, 1987. Since there was some delay on the part of the Commissioner of Labour in processing

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