B P L GROUP OF COMPANIES KARMIKARA SANGHA REGISTERED BANGALORE Vs. COMMISSIONER OF LABOUR GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA BANGALORE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner is a trade union registered under the Trade Unions Act, 1926 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act' ). It has filed this writ petition being aggrieved by the impugned show-cause notice at Annexure-G bearing No. ALC-II/tua/cr-3/98-99, dated November 25, 1998 issued to it by the 2nd respondent-Deputy Registrar of Trade Unions, Bangalore division-II, who is also the Assistant Labour Commissioner, calling upon the petitioner-union to show cause as to why the certificate of registration of the union should not be withdrawn.

(2.) THE facts leading to the issuance of the impugned show-cause notice are briefly stated as underthe petitioner-union has submitted an application as per Annexure-A series before the 2nd respondent to register it as a trade union under the Act along with its constitution/bye-laws. After verifying and being satisfied with the same, the 2nd respondent has registered the petitioner-union on June 10, 1998 and issued the Certificate of Registration as per Annexure-B. According to the petitioner, its members are employees working in the 3rd respondent-BPL group of Companies situated in various parts of Bangalore and its outskirts and nearly 10,000 employees are working in 15 to 16 units. After registration, the petitioner-union placed Charter of Demands with the management of 3rd respondent as per Annexure-C dated July 31, 1998. It is alleged that immediately after learning about the registration of the petitioner-union, the management started harassing the workers, details of harassment are not necessary for the purpose of deciding this matter. When the things stood thus, it is further alleged that the first respondent-Commissioner of Labour in Karnataka has started raising unnecessary and frivolous objections with regard to the registration to petitioner-union and addressed individual letters to the management and the petitioner-union. One of such letters was addressed to the President, citu, as per Annexure-D, dated November 25, 1998. In the first paragraph of the said letter it is stated as under:-"recent verification of the union registrations reveals that the registration is ab initio void as the appropriate authority in respect of the registration of the union on all India basis is the Central government. Hence, separate action is being initiated in the matter". Copies of the same have been sent to the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, the president, CITU and the petitioner-union. The petitioner-union submitted a letter as per annexure-E, dated November 28, 1998 traversing various facts and the stand taken is that the registration of petitioner is in accordance with the provisions of the Act. The petitioner-union also wrote letters as per Annexures-H, J and K to respondents 1 and 2 stating that they have registered many unions whose functions are in more than one State and their membership is extended throughout India. The petitioner-union also asked to furnish the unions registered in their offices.

(3.) INITIALLY the Regional Labour Commissioner (Central) and the Union of India were arrayed as respondents 3 and 4. Subsequently, they have been deleted pursuant to the order dated February 9, 1999 in the light of the memo filed in that regard.