CHINI MILL MAZDOOR UNION GHUGHLI DISTRICT GORAKHPUR Vs. J N KHANNA REGIONAL CONCILIATION OFFICER GORAKHPUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a special appeal against th judgment of a learned single Judge of this Court arising out of a writ petition in an industrial dispute matter. The appellant is the union of workmen employed by the Punjab Sugar Mills Ltd,, Ghughli, in the district of Gorakhpur. Certain workers which were in the employ of the Mills were dismissed by it whereupon they raised a dispute. There was a settlement according to which the retrenched employees were to be re-employed either by the Mills or by a co-operative society of cane growers called the Cane Development Union. In spite of this agreement the dispute did not come to an end as about 130 employees still remained unemployed. The President of the appellant Union, therefore, filed an application before the Regional Conciliation Board on 20-4-1953. for settling the industrial dispute about the rein-statement of 130 discharged workers. In this application the request was that the Board might decide the question of the reinstatement of those 130 workmen to their old jobs with full wages for the period of their unemployment and due Consideration for other amenities. The Board was subsequently constituted but as no conciliation could be effected between the parties the Board submitted a report to the Government. The Government thereupon issued the following Notification on 30-7-1953, under the powers conferred upon it by Sections 3, 4 and 8, U. P. Industrial Disputes Act, and in pursuance of the provisions of clause 10 of the G. O. No. 615, dated 15-3-1951:

(2.) Clause 10 of G. O. no. 615 dated 15-3-1951, runs as follows:

(3.) The argument of learned counsel for the appellant was that the word 'may' in clause 10 of the Government Order of March 15, 1951, meant 'shall' and that therefore the Government was bound to refer all the disputes that existed and not one only of such disputes. The learned single Judge rejected the petition on the ground that tinder Clause 10 of the G. O. dated the 15th March, 1951, referred to the above the Government was not bound to refer for adjudication every dispute which existed but was entitled to refer only such dispute or disputed as it considered necessary to be referred.