INDIAN SAILORS HOME SOCIETY Vs. R D TULPULE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this petition filed under Arts. 226 and 227 of the Constitution, the petitioner-Indian Sailors' Home Society, challenges the order dated 26-5-1970 passed by the first respondent-Industrial Tribunal in Reference (IT) No. 70 of 1968. The facts leading to the petition are as follows :

(2.) Sometime in the year 1967, the employees of the petitioner-society raised a dispute in respect of salaries, dearness allowance and other benefits. The said dispute was taken in to conciliation and as the conciliaion ended in failure, the Government of Maharashtra in exercise of its powers under S. 10(1)(d) read with S. 12(5) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (hereinafter referred to as the said Act) referred the said industrial dispute for adjudication to the Industrial Tribunal by its reference order dated 17-2-1968. The union representing the employees filed its statement of claim on 12-4-1968 and the petitioner-society filed its written statement on 22-4-1968. In the written statement the petitioner-society raised a preliminary point that the petitioner-society was not an "industry" within the meaning of the said Act and, therefore, the Tribunal had no jurisdiction to proceed with the dispute referred to it. The union resisted the said preliminary point and the parties filed their affidavits in support of their respective contentions. On the basis of the affidavits and after hearing the parties, the first respondent-Tribunal passed the impugned order holding that the petitioner-society was an industry within the meaning of the said Act. The Tribunal held that the petitioner-society was rendering to the seamen such services as accommodation, food, lodging facilities and entertainment and this activity took the characteristics of a trade or business, since similar activity is being carried on by commercial establishments like hotels. According to the Tribunal further, it was immaterial that the income derived from rendering such services was utilised for the purpose of bettering the future of seamen and to promote their interests. Thus the Tribunal solely relied upon the nature of the activity, viz., rendering of material services enumerated above and held that the society was an industry. It may be mentioned here that it is agreed before us that the society was not serving food to the seamen and the Tribunal is wrong in referring to the serving of food by the society, in its order.

(3.) Before we examine the rival contentions of the parties, it will be worthwhile to note the admitted facts with regard to, the aims and objects of the petitioner-society and the activities carried on by it. The Indian Sailors' Home Society, was the out-come or lengthy consultations between the Government of India and the erstwhile Government of Bombay as to the most suitable way of perpetuating the memory of the Indian seamen who lost their lives in service during the First World War of 1914-1918. The project of building Indian Sailors' Home was provisionally approved of as long as 1922 but the active steps to bring it into existence were taken only five years thereafter. The petitioner-society is a successor of the Indian Sailor's Home Society which was incorporated under the Indian Companies Act, 1913, on 3rd May, 1933 as a private company (an association not for profit). In 1946, out of the original 50 members more than half were either dead or had permanently left Bombay and it was found impracticable to get the shares of these ineffective members transferred to other persons more interested in the welfare of seamen. The said society was, therefore, taken into members' voluntary liquidation and with the concurrence of the Government of India was reincorporated under the same Act and with the same aims and objects, on 10th August, 1948. The society became a public company with effect from 28th March, 1961, by virtue of the provisions of sub-s. (1) of S. 43A of the Companies Act, 1956.