Narasimham, J.

1. This is an application under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution by the employers for quashing the award given by the Presiding Officer, Central Government Industrial Tribunal, Dhanbad, holding that the retrenchment of 200 workmen with effect from the 15th September, 1962, was not justified.

2. The employers are a firm engaged as contractors for the purpose of removal of overburdens from certain collieries. They had taken two contracts, one from the Damodar Valley Corporation (D. V. C.) for removal of overburden from Bermo Colliery and the other from the National Coal Development Corporation (N. C. D. C.) for the removal of overburden from Bokaro and Kargali Collieries. It is not denied that the work in the N. C. D. C. collieries was completed sometime in 1961, and some of the employees of the petitioners working in those collieries were transferred to the D. V. C. colliery at Bermo soon after. On the 14th September, 1962, the employers put up a notice (Annexure C) to the effect that due to restrictions of import licences, spare parts and engines were not available in the market and the existing plant and machinery of the employers which had deteriora