Industry status under the Industrial Disputes Act must be pleaded and proved before Section 25F protection applies to termination.

A State Forest Department was not shown on the pleadings and facts to be an "industry" under the Industrial Disputes Act, so the protection of Section 25F could not be invoked against termination of a temporary appointee. The Court stressed that the party relying on the Act must plead and establish positive facts showing the character of the establishment, the duties performed, and why the department falls within the statutory definition. An earlier decision could not be extended where no comparable factual foundation was pleaded. The High Court judgment was set aside and the writ petition dismissed.

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Issues: Whether the Forest Department of the State Government could be treated as an "industry" under the Industrial Disputes Act so as to attract Section 25F to the termination of the respondent's temporary appointment.

Analysis: The respondent's claim depended on establishing, with positive facts, that the establishment in which he served was an industry and that the nature of the duties and the department's activities brought the case within the Act. The pleadings did not contain any factual foundation showing the character of the work performed or the nature of the establishment, while the State specifically denied that the Forest Department was an industry. The earlier decision relied upon had turned on its own factual assertions relating to the scheme and the work undertaken, and could not be extended automatically to a case where no such factual basis was pleaded.

Conclusion: The Forest Department was not shown to be an industry on the pleadings and facts of this case, and Section 25F of the Industrial Disputes Act did not apply. The termination was therefore not vitiated on that ground.

Final Conclusion: The judgment of the High Court was set aside and the writ petition stood dismissed, leaving the State's appeal successful.

Ratio Decidendi: A government department is ordinarily not an industry, and a party seeking to invoke the Industrial Disputes Act must plead and establish facts showing that the establishment answers the statutory definition before Section 25F can be applied.

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