D.Falshaw, J.

1. These are two cross-appeals against an order of a learned single Judge partially accepting a petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution by one of the appellants, Daljeet and Co. (Private), Ltd., of Rupar.

2. The matter arose in the following way. The appellant-company is engaged in the road transport business and in March 1959 it entered into an agreement with another company, the Ambala Bus Syndicate (Private), Ltd., by which 28 workmen employed by the syndicate were to be transferred to the service of the Company. The result of this agreement was that the 28 workmen in question became the employees of the company as from 10 March 1959, but a number of them objected to being transferred in this manner on the allegation that the transfer was intended to break up their unity and was a measure of victimization. These workmen raised an industrial dispute which was referred for adjudication to the industrial tribunal at Patiala. That dispute, however, was withdrawn, the formal decision being by an award of the tribunal dated 31 May 1960 published in the Punjab Government Gazette on 24 June 1960.

3. In actual fact that dispute had been superseded by th