The management of the Gnanambikai Mills, Ltd. Vellakkinar, Coimbatore, are the petitioners and they seek relief under Article 226 of the Constitution for the issue of a writ of certiorari to call for the records of the Central Government Industrial Tribunal, Madras and to quash an order of this Tribunal, dated 20th July, 1956, being one passed under section 22 of the Industrial Disputes (Appellate Tribunal) Act, 1950.

A few facts are necessary to be stated to understand the points raised in this petition.

The petitioner is a textile mill engaged in spinning cotton and other yarn. It had a number of workmen employed in the roving department as doffers. The events with which the dispute before the Tribunal and this petition are concerned happened on 23rd May, 1953. One Ramachandran who was a doffer came to the mills on the morning of the 23rd and he obtained an endorsement on his card that he was given no work on that date the words of the endorsement being “No work leave”. It has to be mentioned that at this time there was a cut in the supply of electric power by the Government with the consequence that the mills were obliged to layoff a number of workmen on particular days and t