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Judgment
CA-1632(PB)/2019:-
It is an application filed by Moser Baer Karamchari association availing the lay-off order passed by the liquidator on 12.11.2018. The contention of the applicant is that the liquidator has not followed the procedure in laying off the workers of the company, he says that he should have not done so, for the company is a going concern.
As against this application, the liquidator counsel has submitted that this liquidator has not laid off the employees after liquidation order has been passed, indeed this lay-off was done on 12.11.2018 i.e. during the CIRP, when the Corporate Debtor was not in a position to run it as going concern because market conditions were bad and the Corporate Debtor not in a position to generate any money, at that point of time, when there was no other go except to lay off the workers of the company, that step was taken by the notifying the fact of the CoC.
It appears of that it is the inability of the company that has made the resolution professional to lay off the workers but not to see them deprived of their rights or their livelihood. The liquidator has categorically mentioned that no money was lying with the company. All that happened in between is, since subsidy of approximately Rs. 270 crores due to be released from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Corporate Debtor has failed to run the company. He has also stated that had that money come on time, the company would have revived its business, but since that has not happened so far, the RP took the decision of lay off at least to curtail further burden upon the Company.
In view of this factual situation, now the point is not as to whether lay off is correct or not, but the point is as to whether company is able to generate money and to provide it to the workers. When money itself is not there, no chance for generating money in a situation like this, instead of keeping workers with the company and not providing wages, it is better to lay off the workers so that they could do some other something to get their livelihood.
In view thereof, we are of the view that in the event that subsidy money has come to this company, if the company revives its business, then this company shall take all these workers to continue as before instead of opting for some other workers to run this company. If the company is sold as a going concern to a third party, then also these workers employment shall be revived as considered under Section 230 of the Companies Act, 2013.
For this liquidator having already considered their claims, this application with the aforesaid observations is hereby disposed of.
CA-1438(PB)/2019:-
List on 04.02.2020.
CA-2612(PB)/2019:-
List on 04.02.2020.