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In Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh v. National Textile Corporation (South Maharashtra) Ltd. and Others [(1996) 1 SCC 313], this Court held that gratuity payable by erstwhile owner cannot be recovered from the Central Government or the Corporation, stating :

"The submission is that since the Act has been enacted to protect the interests of the workmen employed in the textile undertakings whose management has been taken over, sub-section (7) of Section 3 should be construed in a manner that the interests of the workmen are protected and are not jeopardised and therefore, sub-section (7) of Section 3 should be confined in its application to liabilities other than the liabilities relating to the dues of the workmen in respect of the gratuity payable under the Payment of Gratuity Act. We find it difficult to accept this contention. It is one of the cardinal principles of the statutory construction that where the language of an Act is clear, the preamble cannot be invoked to curtail or restrict the scope of the enactment and only where the object or meaning of an enactment is not clear the preamble may be resorted to explain it. [See: Burrakur Coal Co. Ltd. v. Union of India SCR at p. 49 and Motipur Zamindary Co. (P) Ltd. v. State of Bihar SCR at p. 504.] Here we find that the language of sub-section (7) of Section 3 is clear and unambiguous inasmuch as in the said provision it has been declared that any liability incurred by the textile company in relation to the textile undertaking before the appointed day shall be enforceable against the textile company concerned and not against the Central Government or the Custodian.

The words "any liability" in sub-section (7) of the said Section 3 are of wide amplitude to cover every liability that was incurred by the textile company in relation to the textile undertaking before the appointed day. Moreover, the statement in the preamble on which reliance has been placed by the learned counsel for the appellant, regarding giving protection to the interests of the workmen employed therein, also indicates that what was intended was to reorganise and rehabilitate the textile undertakings whose management was being taken over with a view to prevent the closure of such undertakings and consequent unemployment of workmen and thereby protect the interests of the workmen who were employed in the textile undertaking at the time of the taking over of the management of the said undertaking. The said statement in the preamble does not refer to persons who had ceased to be in employment of the textile undertaking on the date of such taking over of the management. We are, therefore, unable to hold that sub-section (7) of Section 3, must be so construed as to exclude its applicability in respect of liability for payment of gratuity under the Payment of Gratuity Act."