TVS EMPLOYEES FEDERATION Vs. TVS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) TVS Employees' Federation, Bombay, represented by its president and four others, who are defendants in a suit for permanent injunction, have preferred the instant appeal under clause 15 of the Letters Patent of this court against the order of temporary injunction pending suit by a learned single judge in O. A. No. 45 of 1991. The plaintiff -first respondent herein is a public limited company incorporated under the Indian Companies Act having its head office at 7 -B, West Veli Street, Madurai, and having its branches in Madras and all over Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Goa. It consists of three divisions, viz., Sundaram Motors, Madras Auto Service and TVS, Madurai. Madras Auto Service is engaged in the business of dealing in spare parts and other accessories for motor vehicles. Sundaram Motors and T. V. Sundaram Iyengar and Sons Limited, i.e., the other two divisions, are also engaged in the business of rendering sales, service and repairs to automobiles of various descriptions, primarily with reference to the motor vehicles, which are governed by exclusive franchise given to them by manufacturers, viz., the Premier Automobiles Ltd., Bombay, Mahindra and Mahindra Limited, Bombay, Mahindra Nissan Limited, Hyderabad, and Ashok Leyland Ltd., Madras, are some such manufacturers who have given to Sundaram Motors and T. V. Sundaram Iyengar and Sons franchise, and their activities are extended to substantial parts of Southern India in 17 centres, having units in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Pondicherry and Andhra Pradesh. The fifth defendant -appellant, Thangappan, it is alleged, claiming that he was the president of the TVS Employees' Federation (the first defendant -appellant) purported to prepare a video cassette stated to be depicting the struggle of TVS workers, according to the plaintiff -respondent, with the

(2.) THE plaintiff understands and believes the same to be true that the film and video cassettes make a false version about the plaintiffs management dealing with the workers. They are wrong since they have introduced in the video cassettes to make it appear as if the workers are struggling in the plaintiff's companies. It is made as a documentary film. The plaintiff understands that the film is made by way of video clippings. As far as the petitioners -workers are concerned there is no grievance whatsoever, as already stated. Assuming the workers have any grievance, they have legal remedies under the various labour enactments under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, etc. In fact, the workers can always agitate rights, if any, through the recognised union. Since the workers are given all facilities and very good scale of pay, etc., the workers never showed any displeasure or had no occasion to make demands, and the relationship of the plaintiff and all other workers are absolutely cordial, and there was no occasion for workers to have any grievance against the plaintiff. Therefore, any film prepared by the defendants depicting as if the workers of the plaintiff are put to harassment and they are struggling are all false. In any event, neither by himself or through defendants Nos. 1 to 4 can seek to depict any alleged grievance through video film. There is no law under which the defendants can seek to depict the grievances, if any, through the "video". The plaintiff -respondent also filed an application supported by an affidavit alleging therein that it had come to know that the fifth defendant -appellant styling himself as the president of the first defendant -appellant had prepared certain film and video cassettes said to be depicting the alleged struggle of TVS workers and is making attempts to exhibit the same in the theatres and through video clubs. The fifth defendant under the name of the first defendant is seeking to instigate loyal workers of the plaintiff -company and its other units and has prepared the film and video cassette maligning the reputation of the plaintiff and that it had come to know from the press where it was published that such video cassettes were sought to be exhibited depict company..In the publication, the film is stated to have been produced by Cadre of Media Resource and Action (CAMERA) of Bombay, tracing the history of TVS workers struggle since 1948. The court entertained the said application and issued an order of ad interim injunction in the application on January 11, 1991. The respondents -appellants appeared in the application and gave their version of the matter by a counter -affidavit. They alleged that defendants Nos. 2 to 4, who represented the majority of the employees of the plaintiff -respondent in its different divisions and units had formed a federation (first defendant), that the management of the plaintiff -respondent had created a trade union and almost made it compulsory for the workmen to join the management -controlled union and always succeeded in ushering in it its nominees as office -bearers by some sort of elections. Since the workmen's grievances were not attended to and the management almost exploited the workmen through the union controlled by it, the workers who found that the management was not fairly treating them joined the unions represented by defendants Nos. 2, 3 and 4, i.e., the appellants, who finally joined together to form a federation, i.e., the first defendant. They (the appellants) described in some detail how and why the workmen felt aggrieved and how the plaintiff denied to the workmen their due and victimised them by taking recourse to disciplinary powers, power to transfer, discriminating them in the matter of payment of wages, and extending the monetary benefits including the loans and ex gratia payments to its puppet workmen and that the victimised workmen led by the first appellant -federation organised the struggle on their behalf at Madras and raised demands, inter alia, for the appointment of a commission of inquiry to go into the unfair labour practices in the TVS group of companies, including the plaintiff -respondent and other matters."The defendants -appellants alleged as follows : " The workmen started a struggle near Panagal Park on May 1, 1990, with a continuous fast and more than 25 workers were admitted in the hospital on the verge of death. 203 workers were arrested for 'sathyagraha' and were detained in Central prison till the Government was directed to release the workmen by this honourable court in a writ petition of habeas corpus filed by us. 203 workers suffered detention in the Central prison for 2 months to secure access to justice and prevented by the Government by the corporate might and influence of the TVS group.

(3.) THE respondents deny the allegations of the plaintiff that the film maligns the reputation of the company and in any event the documentary video portrays the truth and does not in any way defame and harm the reputation of the firm.