BANGALI RAJE Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The question raised in this writ petition is about the validity of the constitution of a Works Committee which has been constituted for an industrial establishment.

(2.) There is an industrial establishment of Garrison Engineer, M.E.S., Morar, Gwalior belonging to Central Government employing more than hundred workmen. A Works Committee functions in that establishment. The term of the existing Works Committee expired on 8th July, 1992. A new Works Committee for the two year term of 1992-94 was constituted by the Garrison Engineer by an order dated 29th July, 1992 (Annexure P-l). By that order, seven representatives of the workmen and seven representatives of the employer were nominated to the Works Committee by the Garrison Engineer, who included himself as Chairman of the Works Committee to preside over the meetings of the Committee. It was also provided in that order that in his absence on leave etc., an officer officiating in his place would preside over the meeting. In effect, there were 7 representatives of the employees and 8 representatives of the employer, inclusive of the Chairman. It is this constitution of the Works Committee which is challenged in this writ petition.

(3.) The case of the petitioners, who are four of the workmen of the said establishment, is that representatives of the workmen could not have been nominated to the Works Committee by the Garrison Engineer. The said nomination was done by Garrison Engineer in collusion with the office bearers of the Trade Union in that establishment. The proper course was that action should have been taken to get representatives of the workmen elected. Secondly, it was also urged that the respective representatives of the workmen and employer should have been equal; but what had happened was that representatives of the employer were one more in number than the representatives of the workmen, i.e. 8 to 7. The constitution of the Works Committee for that reason also was illegal. Prayer was made for quashing of the order dated 29th July, 1992 (Annexure P-l) by which the said Works Committee was constituted for the term 1992-94 and direction was also sought for holding of the elections for representatives of the workmen. An application for ad interim writ was also made to restrain the Garrison Engineer from holding any meeting of the newly constituted Works Committee.