Termination without following due procedure under the Industrial Disputes Act leads to reinstatement with back wages.

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS Dated : 01.07.2025 CORAM THE HONOURABLE Ms. JUSTICE P.T. ASHA W.P.No. 8739 of 2023 &

W.M.P.No. 8922 of 2023 The Management Aavesh Clothing Rep. by its Partner Mr. Chandra Prakash Goenka Having office at No. 3 Maruthachalapuram North Kottai Thottam Tiruppur 641 602 ...Petitioner Vs.

K.Vignesh ...Respondent Prayer: Writ Petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to issue a Writ of Certiorari, calling for the entire records pursuant to the award dated 28.09.2022 in I.D.No. 80 / 2020 on the file of Honble Additional Labour Court, Coimbatore quash the same.

For Petitioner : Mr. S.Saravanan For Respondent : Mrs. V.Porkodi For Mr. R.Krishnaswamy

O R D E R

The respondent management seeks to set aside the award passed by the Additional Labour Court, Coimbatore, in ID.No.80 of 2020.

The facts are as follows.

2. The petitioner is a manufacturer and exporter of garments and has around 110 workers working under them in various capacities. The management maintains attendance registers for permanent workers, temporary workers as well as daily workers. The salary of the permanent workers are remitted to their bank accounts on a monthly basis, and in respect of others it is paid on weekly basis.

3. The petitioner company was started in the year 1987 at which point in time the name of the company was Go Go Garments. The respondent was appointed as an Office Assistant in the month of September 1992. He had worked in that capacity till the year 2005.

4. It is the case of the respondent workman that the petitioner was already running a businesses in the name and style of “Aavesh International”, Goenka Textiles, G.R.Goenka and Sons, Rishab International and Kumar Gaurav International. The petitioner accounts were being maintained in many of the firms to defraud workers benefits. Deductions in respect of ESI and EPF was also not carried out. The company in which the petitioner was appointed, namely Go Go garments later renamed Aavesh International is now called Aavesh Clothing.

5. Though the company was known by different names, the company was being run in the very same address and was being run by Chandraprakash Goenka and Raviprakash Goenka. The respondent would state that he had completed 240 days per calendar year for every year of service from the date of appointment. He has started his career with a salary of Rs.600/- and his last drawn salary was Rs.31,980/-.

6. From 25.03.2020 the company's operation's were suspended owing to Covid 19. Production was also stopped during this period. Thereafter they resumed production on 04.05.2020. However, despite the lockdown, the respondent was regularly attending the company as he was responsible for accounts. The company had paid full salary to all the workers for the month of March 2020. Thereafter, 50% of the salary was paid to its employees including the respondent for April 2020 and in May 2020 also the same rate of salary was paid though operations had resumed.

7. Thereafter, the company agreed to pay 82% of salary from June 2020. The workers were agitated by this and were objecting to this action of the petitioner. Therefore, the managing partner of the petitioner company had called the respondent and orally terminated his services with effect from 30.06.2020. This was on account of the fact that the respondent has been demanding settlement of his salary dues. Prior to the termination no domestic enquiry was conducted nor was a notice issued.

8. The said termination was therefore in violation of Section 25 (F) of the Industrial Dispute Act since the respondent company employed over 110 employees. There