2006 (2) TMI 621

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....mand notices were issued periodically to the first respondent-firm and its partners. Since the demands were not satisfied, the movables of the firm were attached on July 23, 2003 and sold in auction for Rs. 17,525. Apart from seizing the bank account of the firm in the Syndicate Bank, Cherlai, Kochi and Lord Krishna Bank, Eramallur, two items of immovable properties have been attached during the course of the revenue recovery proceedings. The upset price of the land comes to Rs. 35,80,672 and that of the building comes to Rs. 55,39,180. After the immovables were attached, they were brought to sale on June 17, 2005, but adjourned for want of sufficient bidders. While the sale stood adjourned as aforesaid, this writ petition is filed by two ....

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.... no secured or unsecured creditors, including banks or financial institutions are entitled to be paid before the workmen's dues are paid. The sustainability of the claim of the workman for pari passu distribution with the other creditors has been recognised. In support of the said position, the learned counsel for the petitioners relied on the decisions of the apex court in National Textile Workers' Union v. P.R. Ramakrishnan [1983] 1 SCR 922, Dena Bank v. Bhikhabhai Prabhudas Parekh & Co. [2000] 120 STC 610; [2000] 5 SCC 694, Allahabad Bank v. Canara Bank [2000] 4 SCC 406, Andhra Bank v. Official Liquidator AIR 2005 SC 1814 and Oswal Agro Furane Ltd. v. Oswal Agro Furane Workers Union [2005] 1 KLT 936. Relying on the last among the....

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.... recovered in the manner provided for in sub-section (1). This means that after the Labour Court comes to the decision as to the amount that is due, the appropriate Government will proceed to recover the same by issuing a certificate to the Collector who shall proceed to recover the same in the same manner as an arrear of land revenue. The provisions of the ID Act do not provide any charge on the property of the management or other person regarding any of the dues that may become recoverable on the basis of an order under section 33C(2) following the procedure for recovery provided under sub-section (1) of section 33C. However, section 26B of the KGST Act, which came into effect on April 1, 1999 by its insertion by Act No. 23 of 1999 provi....

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....section 26B of the KGST Act. The aforesaid view requires me to refer to the decision of this court in G. Surendran's case [2003] 2 KLJ 878 relied on by the learned counsel for the petitioners, wherein this court held, on the facts of the said case, that section 26B of the KGST Act would not apply and the claim of the workers for wages, bonus, etc., shall have priority over all other dues. In G. Surendran's case [2003] 2 KLJ 878, the employees were laid off prior to 1990 and an award of the Labour Court passed on a claim under section 33C(2) of the ID Act had become final. This court rightly noticed that the claim of the workmen that had fructified into an award was followed by judgment of this court in writ jurisdiction directing e....