JUDGMENT

S.C. Gupte, J. - This petition challenges an award passed by the Labour Court at Pune in a reference made to it under Section 12(5) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 ("Act").

2. The reference concerned the second party union's (i.e. the Respondent's) demand for reinstatement with continuity of service and full back wages to ten workmen represented by it. The Petitioner, who was the first party to the reference, opposed it. Its case before the reference court was that the unit was closed down and in accordance with negotiations with the representative union, closure compensation was paid to all workmen. The reference court did not accept the case of the first party that all ten employees, having entered into an agreement through their representative union (Maharashtra Labour Union) with the first party for accepting such payment vide receipts dated 9 August 1997, which were on record, gave up their right to reinstatement or reemployment and that they were no longer workmen within the meaning of Section 2(s) of the Act having given up their lien over employment. The court noted that in the first place, the first party had not produced any agreement entered into by these ten