NATIONAL ENGINEERING INDUSTRIES LTD. vs ITS WORKMEN

The Supreme Court addressed the calculation of rehabilitation costs for machinery in the context of bonus claims for the years 1956-57 to 1959-60. The Court held that when accurate quotations for replacement costs are available, they should be used instead of relying on a notional multiplier. It was determined that the Tribunal's method of calculating rehabilitation costs for old machinery should align with the method used for new machinery, leading to the conclusion that no surplus was available for bonus distribution if calculated correctly. The Court emphasized the importance of item-wise estimates over block-wise estimates when feasible.