1. The petitioners in this case are the workmen of the Tile Factory at Feroke, under the employment of the 2nd respondent and are represented by the Secretary of Tile Workers' Union. On behalf of the workmen, the Union raised an industrial dispute regarding the payment of the bonus for the year 1960 and other matters and the Government of Kerala referred the dispute for adjudication to the 1st respondent.

2. The Union by its written statement claimed that the payment of bonus had ripened into an implied condition of the contract of employment as from the very beginning of the working of the company, the workers were paid bonus regularly at the time of Vishu every year. The 2nd respondent controverted this allegation and contended that bonus was never paid by the Management except out of profit and that it paid bonus in certain years of loss purely as a matter of bounty, to purchase goodwill of the workmen and to maintain industrial peace.

3. The 1st respondent came to the conclusion that the workers were not entitled to bonus as an implied condition of service and dismissed their claim for the same. It is to quash this part of the award that this writ petition has been fi