Super Spinning Mills Limited and Others vs Govt. of A.P., Labour, Employment, Training and Factories Department and Another

B.S.A. Swamy, J.—The Spinning Mills, three in number, situated at Hindupur, Anantapur District, filed this writ petition questioning the Notification issued by the Government under Andhra Pradesh Factories and Establishments (National, Festival and other Holidays) Act 1974 (A.P. Act No. 32/1974) declaring the election days as paid holidays by stating that day is defined as twenty-four hours beginning at midnight u/s 2(a) of the said Act and contended that these Spinning Mills are working in three shifts-the first one is the general shift from 8.00 to 16.30 hours, the second is from 16.30 to 1.00 and the third is from 1.00 to 8.00 and if the Mills are closed for twenty-four hours as contemplate under the said Act they will suffer irreparable loss and injury as so much of wastage of yarn material will come if once the Unit is stopped from production.

The petitioners also stated that while the election hours are from 8.00 to 17.00 and there is no need to declare the entire twenty-four hours commencing from midnight of 4th September till the midnight of 5th September as paid holiday and likewise on other election days.

Heard the learned Government Pleader for Labour.

As the very purpose of declaring the election day as paid holiday is to enable the workers to go to polling booths for casting their votes and participate in the process of election in electing their representatives both for Assembly and the Parliament, hence, I feel that there is justification in the complaint made by the Spinning Mills in declaring entire twenty-four hours as paid holiday. Ends of justice will be met by permitting the petitioners to stop production in the first shift or make other alternative arrangements with the consent of the workers so that the functioning of the Mills will not come in the way of the workers participating in the elections.

With the above observations, the writ petition is disposed of.