BHARATIYA PRATIRAKSHA MAZDOOR SANGH Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present writ petition has been filed as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by Bharatiya Pratiraksha Mazdoor Sangh (BPMS) which is a federation of registered trade unions working in defence installations of Ministry of Defence, including Ordnance Factory Board and is an industrial unit of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS). It has been stated that BPMS is the largest trade union in the country and the petitioner federation is duly recognised by the Ministry of Defence, Government of India.

(2.) It has been further stated that the Petitioner Federation was constituted in 1966 as a federation of trade unions of civilian employees working in different directorates of Ministry of Defence. The petitioner trade union is aggrieved by a Gazette notification no. CG-DL-E-01102021-230101 dtd. 1/10/2021 by which a policy decision has been taken by the Government of India for conversion of Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) into seven Major Corporations. The petitioner in the writ petition has stated that the conversion of OFB into seven Major Corporations was recommended in the year 2000 by T.K.A. Nair Committee and the Committee recommended conversion of the OFB into the Ordnance Factory Corporation Limited.

(3.) The petitioner Federation has further stated that at the relevant point of time they met the then Defence Minister and they have been assured that no conversion of OFB into the Ordnance Factory Corporation Ltd. will take place. The petitioners have stated that the matter was pending with the Government of India and various Defence Ministers have given assurance to the petitioner Federation that there is no such proposal to corporatize the Ordnance Factories.