BHILAI STEEL KAMGAR SANGH Vs. L.R. JOSHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an application under Artoles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India for the issue of a writ of certiorari for qushing an order of the Registrar appointed under Section 14 of the C. P. and Berar Industrial Disputes Settlement Act, 1947, granting recoginition under Section 3 of the Act, to the opponent No. 2, Steel Worker's Union Bhilai.

(2.) THE petitioner, Bhilai Steel Kamgar Sangh, and the opponent No. 2, Steel Workers Union, are both trade unions registered under the Indian Trade Unions Act, 1926. Any such registered union can apply under Section 3 of the local Act for registration as a recognised union. Sub -section (2) of Section 3 provides that on receipt of an application for registration as a recognised union the Registrar shall hold such enquiry as he considers necessary and if he is satisfied that the union fulfils the conditions necessary for registration specified in Section 4 he shall issue a certificate of registration in the prescribed form and register the name of such union. Section 4 lays down the conditions necessary for recognition. Sections 7 and 7 -A deal with cancellation of certificate of a recognised union and recognition of another union in place of recognised union. Section 12, which is the material Section here, is as follows: -

(3.) THE petitioner's grievance is that the Registrar acted contrary to Section 12 in granting recognition to the opponent -Union without intimating to the petitioner. Sangh whether it had been joined as party to the enquiry and without giving it an opportunity of hearing and without even considering the objection taken in its letter dated the 10th May 1960. Shri Dharmadhikari, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner, urged that the notices which were published by the Registrar did not at all fulfil the requirements of Section 12 (1) in that they failed to sepecify the time and place of enquiry; that under Section 12 (2) the petitioner was entitled to be made a party, to the enquiry when it had intimated to the Registrar its objection for the grant of recognition to the opponent -Union; and that the petitioner's objection, even though made before the publication of the notice in the Gazette of 13th May 1960, could not be ignored on the ground of being premature and should have been taken into consideration by the Registrar.