Varadarajan, J.

There is an observation of a Division Bench of this Court in Railway Employees' Co-operative Bank v. Labour Court, that it was not the case of the workman that he had worked for more than 48 hours and, therefore, was entitled to overtime wages under S.31 of the Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Act, 1947. Another Division Bench of this Court has observed in K. P. V. Sheik Mohammed Rowther & Co. v. K. S. Narayanan,:

"So far as the overtime wages are concerned, the learned Judge has found that the workman in W.A. No. 402 of 1960 has worked beyond the normal working hours. That finding appears to be correct. In view of it, he will be entitled to overtime wages" *

.

K. N. Mudaliyar, J., before whom these writ petitions came, felt that there was conflict in the reasoning in these two Division Bench decisions and that the matter must, therefore, go before a Division Bench. That is how the matter has come up before this Bench.

2. Selvaraj Daniel, Parangusam and Damodaran, who are respectively the first respondent in W.P. Nos. 1006 to 1008 of 1971, filed Claim Petitions Nos. 19, 21 and 20 of 1964 under S. 33C-2 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The petitioners