HC issues contempt notices on Piramal Mills8217; directors

MUMBAI, SEPT 20: The Bombay High Court today issued contempt notices to the managing director of Piramal Spinning and Weaving Mills Ltd, ...

MUMBAI, SEPT 20: The Bombay High Court today issued contempt notices to the managing director of Piramal Spinning and Weaving Mills Ltd, Dr Mohan Piramal and other directors on the board for failing to implement the high court8217;s directions of August 31 to pay its workers the salaries for the month of August 1999. Justice H L Gokhale of the Bombay High Court also restrained the company from disposing off any goods from godowns or the Ambarnath unit of the factory till the petition is heard.

The directions came in a contempt petition filed by the Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh RMMS, the recognised union of the mill workers who have not been paid since August. Around 1654 workers have not received wages despite the court recording a statement by the company8217;s advocate in an earlier order on August 30 that states8220;salaries will be paid as usual8221;. This meant that workers should have been paid by 1st and 10th of September, especially in these festive months, the advocate for the petitioners had pointed out.

The orders of today came at the end of an exhaustive hearing where the advocate S C Dharmadhikari argued for the company that it did not have the requisite funds to pay the workers. He also argued that if there was a court injunction on selling the product, the company would be further handicapped financially.

However, advocate for the petitioners Naina Buch and Hitesh Buch were able to show documents that the company had paid excise duty of around Rs 13.26 lakh on finished products worth Rs 1.65 crore that had been sold in August 1999 itself.

In his order, Justice Gokhale noted the arguments. 8220;Prima facie, with the material on hand, the stand of the mill that it has no money except by selling cloth, is difficult to accept,8221; he said in his order. He also recorded that he had asked the company8217;s advocate to make a statement that status quo would be maintained on the goods presently available with the company. 8220;However, the advocate on instructions from his client declined to do so,8221; Justice Gokhale recorded.

The court then proceeded to issue contempt notices to the directors returnable on October 5, 1999. The respondents have been restrained from selling off any of its finished products and the person in charge of the Ambarnath unit, Ambar Process division of Piramal Mills, R M Goyal has been restrained from bringing any of the goods lying in the factory to the godown at Andheri or sold off. The respondents have been asked to file an affidavit recording the status of the company the shareholding and the earnings of the mill.