The central legal point established in the judgment is the obligation of the company to pay wages, provident fund, and other benefits to its workers, and the authority of legal bodies to take steps for recovery of the dues of the workmen.

S.J. Mukhopadhaya, J

As the Writ Petitions have been preferred by the parties who are petitioner(s) or respondent(s) to each of the cases and as the Writ Petitions are inter-connected, they were heard together and disposed of by this common order.

2. Writ Petition No.6603 of 2004 has been preferred by Mahavir Plantations Private Limited, Willington Island, Kochi, against the proceedings dated 12. 2004 issued by the second respondent-Recovery Officer, Employees Provident Fund Organisation, Sub-Regional Office, Dr. Balasundaram Road, Coimbatore. The very same Company, through its Prospective Estate, Naduvattam, Udhagamandalam Taluk, The Nilgiris, preferred Writ Petition No.4237 of 2005 against the notice dated 1. 2005 issued by the Sub-Judge-cum-Secretary, Nilgiris District Legal Services Authority, Udhagamandalam, at the instance of the District Judge-cum-President/Chairman of the Nilgiris District Legal Services Authority, whereby Mahavir Plantations Private Limited has been directed to appear in person. The third Writ Petition in W.P.No.1362 of 2007 has been preferred by one Mr. P. Mani, a permanent employee of Mahavir Plantations Private Limited, in a representative capacity on behalf of several workmen of the said Company, for a direction to the respondents 1 to 3 to enquire into the affairs of the fourth respondent-Mahavir Plantations Private Limited and to pay to the workmen the outstanding dues and for complaince of the provisions of the Plantation Labour Act. This permanent employee has also been impleaded as party respondent (i.e. third respondent) in W.P.No.4237 of 2005 preferred by the said Company.

3. The case of Mahavir Plantations Private Limited (hereinafter referred to as the Company) in W.P.No.6603 of 2004 is that it is engaged in manufacture, cultivate and export of tea and spices of approximately 8,300 acres of prima plantation lands in the States of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, employing about 4,500 workers. According to the Company, due to various reasons, including severe recession in the tea industry and the effect of globalisation since 1998, the plantation has started incurring severe losses. In fact, since 1996, labour problem started and the workmen started demanding higher wages and other benefits, which the Company could not meet because of severe losses.

4. It is further alleged by the Company that the workers resorted to illegal practices like plucking of tea leaves and selling the same on their own without handing over the plucked leaves to the Management. Several complaints were made to the Police, as also to the Deputy Commissioner of Labour and after several rounds of discussion, Deputy Commissioner of Labour passed an order on 16. 2000, directing that the value of green leaves stolen by the workers should be assessed and the said value should be adjusted against the dues if any and future wages payable to the workers by the Management of the Company. Since then, the work on the plantations was slowly normalizing, but unfortunately, on the Prospects and Liddlesdale Estates of the Company, situated at Naduvattam Village, some of the workers continued non-co-operation and man-handling of the executives, due to which, the Company had to declare lock-out as on 312. 2001, which continued till 15. 2002. The lock-out was subsequently lifted after an understanding was reached between the workers and the trade unions on 15. 2002 with the Management, which was subsequently informed to the Regional Labour Commissioner, Coimbatore and Government authorities. On the High Forest Estate of the Company, the workers were on strike since July 2001 upto September 2002 and there also, after calling off the strike, the normalcy came.

5. According to the Company, it has made complaint to the Superintendent of Police, Udhagamandalam on 9. 2002 and even thereafter, regarding the theft of tea leaves from the Estate(s), but no action has been taken and having no other option to the Company, it had approached thi