LAWS(MAD)-2011-8-54

NTPC LIMITED Vs. UNION OF INDIA

Decided On August 22, 2011
NTPC LIMITED Appellant
V/S
UNION OF INDIA Respondents

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner is the NTPC Limited, which is a Government of India enterprise. THEy have come forward to file the present writ petition seeking to challenge an order of reference made by the Union of India, represented by the Secretary to Government, Ministry of Labour, dated 9.2.2009. By the impugned order, the first respondent/Central Government referred an industrial dispute raised by the third respondent/ Trade Union by exercising the power under Section 10(1)(d) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (for short, "the ID Act"). THE terms of reference, as found in the impugned order, read as follows:

(2.) THE writ petition was admitted on 29.4.2009. Pending the writ petition, this Court granted interim stay. Subsequently, when a vacate stay petition was filed by the third respondent/union in M.P.No.1 of 2010, this Court rejected their plea for vacating the stay and made the stay absolute vide order dated 18.8.2010. On behalf of the fourth respondent, viz., Power Grid Corporation of India Limited, another public sector enterprise, a counter affidavit dated 1.11.2010 was filed. THE first respondent/Union of India had also filed a counter affidavit dated nil.

(3.) RESISTING the stand of the petitioner, the first respondent/ Central Government, in their counter affidavit, stated that the demand for reduction of the working days or in essence additional payment for the additional work of one day per week can certainly be an industrial dispute between the parties. 5.2. It is also stated that an order of reference is not a quasi-judicial order and one of administrative action by the Central Government, for which reliance was placed upon the judgment of the Supreme Court in Western India Match Co. Ltd. v. Workers Union, [1970] 1 SCC 225 : [1970] 2 LLJ 256 and Ram Avtar Sharma v. State of Haryana, [1985] 3 SCC 189 : [1985] 2 LLJ 187. 5.3. As to the sufficiency or satisfaction of the material placed before the Central Government reliance was placed upon the judgment of the Supreme Court in Avon Services Production Agencies (P) Ltd. v. Industrial Tribunal, Haryana, [1979] 1 SCC 1 : [1979] 1 LLJ 1 and it was contended that if a dispute was an industrial dispute, its factual existence and expediency of making the reference in the circumstances of a particular case are the matters entirely for the government to decide and it will not be competent for the court to hold that the reference was bad and quash the proceedings for want of jurisdiction merely because in the opinion of the court there was no material before the Government which could have made it to come to an affirmative conclusion. 5.4. It was also stated that in the absence of any settlement under Section 12(3) of the ID Act, the Government is competent to make a reference. 5.5. It was further stated that after the receipt of the failure report, the Government of India requested the Ministry of Power to advise the respective management to settle the dispute amicably by discussion with the union concerned and also to furnish their comments to the Government of India within a period of 60 days and it was indicated that if there was no remark, it will be presumed that they had no valid objection for the matter being referred for adjudication and, therefore, since the dispute was not settled amicably, the Government, on perusal of the report along with the representation and replies submitted by all parties, referred the dispute. 5.6. A preliminary objection was also raised that a public sector undertaking should not come to the Court challenging another order passed by another wing of the Government and in such cases, unless the opinion of the High Power Committee for initiating the litigation between the inter-ministerial departments is obtained, the Court should not entertain any litigation.