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Issues:
1. Industrial dispute regarding retrenchment of employees. 2. Validity of the award passed by the industrial tribunal. 3. Sponsorship of the case by an association. 4. Requirement of registration for an association sponsoring a case. 5. Scope of the principle 'first come last go' in retrenchment decisions. Analysis: 1. The case involved an industrial dispute arising from the retrenchment of employees by a newspaper company. The tribunal found the company guilty of not following the industrial principle of 'first come last go' in the retrenchment process, leading to the direction for reinstatement of the employees. The company's appeal against this decision was dismissed, resulting in the reinstatement order being upheld. 2. During the proceedings, some employees filed a writ petition challenging the tribunal's decision, which was later dismissed by the High Court. The company also filed a separate writ petition, which was similarly dismissed. The company then appealed against the dismissal of its writ petition, which was ultimately rejected. The company then approached the Supreme Court seeking special leave against this decision. 3. The company argued that the dispute was not an industrial dispute as it was not sponsored by a union or a body of workmen. However, the courts found that an association had sponsored the case of the employees, making it an industrial dispute. The courts confirmed the existence of the association and its role in supporting the employees. 4. The company further contended that the sponsoring association was unregistered, making the reference invalid. Both the lower courts held that registration was not a prerequisite for an association to sponsor a workman's case, as long as a body of workmen supported the case, it constituted an industrial dispute. 5. The company also raised the argument that the principle of 'first come last go' did not apply in this case as the employees belonged to different departments. However, the Supreme Court noted that this argument was not raised earlier in the proceedings and could not be considered at this stage. The court emphasized that such factual issues should have been raised during the original proceedings and not introduced at a later stage. In conclusion, the Supreme Court dismissed the company's appeal, upholding the decisions of the lower courts. The court found no merit in the company's arguments regarding the nature of the dispute, the sponsorship by an unregistered association, or the applicability of the 'first come last go' principle in the retrenchment process.
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