HEAVY ENGINEERING MAZDOOR UNION Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Heavy Engineering Corporation Ltd., Ranchi is a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956. Its entire share capital is contributed by the Central Government and all its shares have been registered in the name of the President of India and certain officers of the Central Government. It is, therefore, a Government company within the meaning of Section 617 of the Companies Act. The Memorandum of Association and the Articles of Association of the company confer large powers on the Central Government including the power to give directions as regards the functioning of the company. The Wages and salaries of its employees are also determined in accordance with the said directions. The directors of the company are appointed by the President. In its standing orders, the company is described as a Government undertaking. The workmen employed by the company have two unions, the Heavy Engineering Mazdoor Union and the Hatia Project Workers Union.

(2.) Certain disputes having arisen between the company and its workmen, into which it is not necessary for the purposes of this judgment to go, the State Government of Bihar by its notification dated November 15, 1966 referred two questions to the Industrial Tribunal for its adjudications firstly, as regards the number of festival holidays and secondly, whether the second Saturday in a month should be an off-day. The Mazdoor Union thereupon filed a writ petition under Arts. 226 and 227 of the Constitution in the High Court of Patna disputing the validity of the said reference on two grounds; (1) that the appropriate Government to make the said reference under Section 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 was the Central Government and not the State Government and (2) that the questions referred to were at the time actually pending before the certifying authority under the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 on an application for modification of the company's standing orders and that therefore the said questions would not be industrial disputes which could be validly referred for adjudication. Before the High Court it was conceded that the company was not an industry carried on by the Central Government but the contention was that considering the fact that the entire share capital was contributed by the Central Government and extensive powers were conferred on it, the company must be regarded as an industry carried on under the authority of the Central Government and that therefore it was that Government which was the appropriate Government which could make the said reference. On the second question, the contention was that the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act was a self-contained code, that once a question relating to conditions of service was before the certifying authority constituted under that Act and was pending before him, the said question could not be an industrial dispute which could be referred for adjudication under Section 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act. It was urged that consequently the reference on both the grounds was invalid. The High Court negatived both the contentions and upheld the validity of the reference. The Mazdoor Union obtained a certificate under Article 133 (1) (c) and filed this appeal impugning the correctness of that decision.

(3.) Under Section 2 (a) 'appropriate Government' (leaving aside the words which are not relevant for our purposes) means (i) in relation to any industrial dispute concerning an industry carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government, the Central Government, and (ii) in relation to any other industrial dispute the State Government. As was done before the High Court, Mr. Nag, appearing for the appellant-union, conceded that he would not contend that the company is an industry carried on by the Central Government but argued that it is an industry carried on under the authority of the Central Government and therefore it is that Government and not the State Government which is the appropriate Government for making a reference under Section 10 of the Act. The first question raised by the appellant-union, therefore, turns solely upon the construction of the words "carried on under the authority of the Central Government." The contention was primarily grounded on the fact that the entire share capital of the company has been contributed by the Central Government, all its shares are held by the President and certain officers of the Central Government presumably its nominees and extensive control is vested in the Central Government.