THE INDIAN HUME PIPE CO., LTD., vs THEIR WORKMEN

The Supreme Court ruled that losses from the Lahore factory and expenditures on patents could not be considered prior charges for bonus calculations as they were merely debits from previous years. The Court held that the debenture redemption reserve could not be treated as a prior charge under the Full Bench formula, though it could be factored into the distribution of available surplus. Additionally, the Court clarified that a return exceeding 5% on preference shares was not permissible, emphasizing that bonus calculations must adhere to All-India figures to ensure fairness among workers across different factories.