DECISION These three appeals, by t9e Roti Corporation of Pakistan, are direc--ted against three separate decisions given by the learned First Labour Court, allowing the grievance petitions of the three respondents challeng--ing their re-instatement in service and directing the appellant corporation to re-instate them in service with full back benefits. The decision in the case of respondent Naik Muhammad, was given on 21st April, 1982 and proceeds on the basis that the appellant corporation has failed to estab--lish that it had suffered losses and the retrenchment of the staff had be-- come necessary while the decisions in the cases of respondents Fakir Hussain and Ghulam Nabi, while reiterating this position, are based on two further grounds, namely that the termination of service of these two respondents was mala fide and act of victimization. Since at least one ground is common in all the three appeals they have been heard together and are being disposed of by this order.
2. The admitted facts of this case are that the respondents were originally employed in the Roti Corporation of Pakistan in Karachi as Assistant Bakers. They were subsequently designated/promoted as Bakers. It is the case of the appellant corporation that all along it has been suffering losses in its working and that the accumulated losses upto June, 1981 reached the colossal amount of Rupees twenty crores. In consequence of these losses, the appellant corporation decided to re-organise and re--trench its staff. In pursuance of this scheme of retrenchment and re--organization the posts of bakers and a number of other post were abolish-- ed. The respondents, as a result of abolition of their posts, were offered the lower-posts of Assistant Bakers from where they had been promoted but they declined this offer. The services of the three appellants were, accordingly, terminated. The services of respondents Fakir Hussain and Ghulam Nabi were terminated vide separate but identical order, dated 22nd July, 1981, while the services of respondent Naik Muhammad were terminated vide order, dated 26th July, 1981. It is the case of the appellant corporation that on 4th August, 1981, respondents Fakir Hussain and Ghulam Nabi were paid their full-dues and they signed full and final settlement bank payment vouchers. However, all the three respondents filed grievance petitions before the learned First Labour Court against the termination of .Their services, after serving the requisite grievance notices upon the appellant corporation. As already indicated the learned Labour Court allowed their grievance petitions. The grievance petition of respondent Naik Muhammad was allowed on the ground that the appellant corporation had failed to establish that they had incurred losses while the grievance petitions of the other two respondents were allowed on the additional grounds that the termination of their services were mala fide and constitute an act of victimization on the part of the appellant corporation.
3. I have heard Mr. Syed Zamirul Hassan, the learned counsel for the appellant corporation, and Mr. M. M. Jillani, the learned Advocate for three respondent workmen. Mr. Zamirul Hassan assailed the impugn--ed decision in respect of respondents Fakir Hussain and Ghulam Nabi on the ground that they had received all their dues in full and final settlement and hence were no longer aggrieved persons and, thus, not entitled to file or maintain grievance petitions. The learned counsel referred me to the full and final settlement statements which have been signed by these two respondents.
The statement in respect of Fakir Hussain appears at page 39 of the record of the learned Labour Court while the full and final settlement statement in respect of respondent Ghulam Nabi appears at page 37 of the record of the learned Labour Court . According to the full and final settlement statement in respect of Fakir Hussain, his total dues towards the appellant corporation, including leave pay, gratuity and notice pay, were worked out at Rs. 7,600.70, out of which a sum of Rs. 144.70 was deducted on account of leave without pay for five days enjoyed by him leaving an amount of Rs. 7,456 to his credit. The full and final settlement statement in the case of respondent Ghulam Nabi indicates that the net amount payable to him by the,- corporation, including gratuity, notice pay and leave pay, amounted to Rs. 4,219.20. The amount payable to the said two respondents were actually paid to them through cheques and both of them have signed bank payment vouchers in token of having received the amount. Both these respondents admitted having received the said amount and having signed the two statements as well as bank payment vouchers. However, respondent Fakir Muhammad has taken the plea that he is illiterate and signature was taken on unwritten paper while respondent Ghulam Nabi has stated that he had been offered the post of Assistant faker which offer he had refused, and he had signed full and final payment statement in token of such refusal. Furthermore, while admitting the receipt of Rs. 4,219 from the appellant corporation, he explained that he had received the same on a clear cut assurance that if no reply came from the Lahore Office regard--ing the offer to the lower post being made oil the condition that his wages would not thereby be reduced the amount paid to him would be consi--dered unacceptable. The learned Labour Court appears to have accepted the plea without examining their merits and has observed that the receipt by these two .Appellants of their dues was subject to certain conditions. It may be pointed out that respondent Fakir Husaain had not even alleged that he had received the amount of Rs.
7,456 on any condition. The finding, therefore, of the learned Labour Court that this respondent also had accepted the above amount subject to any condition is not based on any evidence whatsoever. Even in the case of respondent Ghulam Nabi his plea that he had received the amount of Rs. 4,219.20 on the clear cut assurance that if favourable reply does not come from the Lahore Head Office regarding the offer made to him then he would not accept the same, is not supported by any evidence: Neither any evidence regarding any such undertaking or assurance having been given to him by the manage--ment was held by this respondent nor any question was put to the Factory Manager of the appellant corporation, who was examined before the learned Labour Court in this behalf. It may be pointed out that even in their grievance petitions, neither of the two respondents made any mention of the receipt by them of the above amount nor did they suggest that the payments of the amount were not made on certain conditions or assurance. Both the full and final settlement statements and the bank payment vouchers are clear and not ambiguous that the amounts stated therein were paid to the two respondents in full and final settlement of their dues. I am, there--fore, of the view that respondents Fakir Hussain and Ghulam Nabi had received all their dues in full and final settlement and had not only signed the full and final settlement statement but also bank payment vouchers. A Having received their dues on full and final settlement they ceased to b aggrieved persons entitled to file grievance petitions under section 25-A, I. R. O., as held by a Division Bench of the Karachi High Court in the case reported as Futtehally Chemicals Limited v. Majeed Baig (1973 PLC 297). The said decision was respectfully followed by this Tribunal in the case of Muhammad Siddique v. Premier Tobacco Industries Limited (1981 PLC 670).
4. It next falls to be considered whether the appellant corporation was suffering losses in its operation and the retrenchment of the three respondents was justified. The plea that the appellant corporation has been continuously suffering losses in its operation and these accumulated losses amount to twenty crores is based on the evidence of witness Mahmood Iqbal, Factory Manager in the Gulshan Roti Plant of the Roti Corpora--tion. He has not produced or filed any statement of such losses but has based his evidence on the statements of the Labour Minister appearing in the newspapers, the decision of the Cabinet as reported in the newspapers and three news items as appearing in the national press regarding the economic condition of the appellant corporation.
These news items and statements, no doubt, indicate that there have been huge losses in the operation of appellant corporation and that its production of 'Naps', 'Roti' and 'Bread' has considerably dwindled. However, no authenticity can be attached to the statements or the figures given in the newspaper reports. The newspaper item of 15th April, 1981 refers to the report of the Organization and Methods in respect of the working of the appellant corporation and the alleged losses suffered by it but no copy of such report was filed. Another circumstance which was urged by Mr. Syed Zamirul Hassan in support of his contention that the appellant corpora--tion was suffering huge loss and hence bona fide retrenchment had to be effected was that two plants of Roti Corporation at Karachi and two plants at Lahore had been closed down and that there had been a large scale retrenchment of the staff, both in the Regional Offices as well as to the various plants. However, no witness testified before the learned Labour Court about the closing down of the plants at Lahore and Karachi, Mr. Syed Zamirul Hassan explained that the closure of these plants was subsequent to the proceedings taken before the learned Labour Court . As regards the retrenchment of the staff, it would be justifiable and appropriate if the appellant corporation had suffered losses, but the mere fact that a company retrenches its staff does not establish that it has necessarily suffered losses. On the other hand, Mr. Tahir Hussain, the Vice- President of the R. C. P. Staff & Workers' Union, who was examined before the learned Labour Court in the case of Ghulam Nabi and Fakir Hussain, denied that the appellant corporation was running into losses.
5. With their Memo. Of appeal, the appellant corporation has filed statements of accounts for the year ending 30th June, 1977 upto the year ending 30th June, '1981, including audited statement for the year ending 30th June, 1978, indicating that the appellant corporation has suffered losses, but since these statements have not been properly proved and further no opportunity has been given to the other side to controvert these statements or lead evidence indicating that the claim that the appellant corporation has not suffered losses is not genuine, I cannot refer to these documents or at least rely on them. In the circumstances the only appropriate course appears to me to remand the cases of respondent Naik Muhammad to the learned Labour Court to give an opportunity to both the parties to lead evidence on the issue whether the appellant corporation has or has not suffered losses and whether any of the plants of the appellant corporation have been closed down.
6. In the result the appeals of the appellant corporation against respondents Ghulam Nabi and Fakir Hussain are allowed and the orders of the learned Labour Curt re-instating them in service with back benefits are set aside while the case of respondent. Naik Muhammad is remanded to the learned Labour Court for giving an opportunity to both parties to lead evidence on the points indicated above. The learned Labour Court will give a fresh decision on the basis of the evidence led before it.