BURHANPUR TAPTI MILLS LTD. Vs. INDUSTRIAL COURT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this application under articles 126 and 227 of the Constitution, the petitioner seeks a writ of certiorari for quashing an award made in two parts by the State Industrial Court overruling the petitioner's objections to the jurisdiction of the Industrial Court to entertain and decide an industrial dispute referred to the Industrial Court of the old Central Provinces and Berar by a notification dated the 22nd August 1955 under section 39 of the C.P. and Berar Industrial Disputes Settlement Act, 1947, issued by the Government of the old C.P. and Berar. The petitioner also prays that the Industrial Court be restrained by the issue of a suitable direction from proceeding with the reference in any manner.

(2.) THE matter arises thus: On 22nd August 1955, the C.P. and Berar Government issued under section 39 of the C.P. and Berar Industrial Disputes Settlement Act, 1947 referring to the arbitration of the State Industrial Court a dispute between eleven textile mills, enumerated in schedule I to the notification, and their employees in the mechanical and engineering branches. This reference was pending before the Industrial Court of the C.P and Berar when the Slate Reorganisation Act, 1956, came into force. In the reorganisation of Stales, nine out of eleven textile mills, stated in schedule I to the notification, became located in the new State of Bombay, now Maharashtra, and the remaining two mills, namely, the petitioner Mill and the B.N.C. Mills Ltd, Rajnandgaon, fell in the new Madhya Pradesh. When after the reorganisation the reference came up for hearing before the State Industrial Court at Nagpur, an objection was raised on behalf of nine mills in the Bombay State that the reference made by the C. P. and Berar Government on 22nd August 1955 did not subsist and the Industrial Court at Nagpur had no jurisdiction to continue the proceedings arising out of the reference in as much as they did not relate exclusively to the territory which had become part of the territory of the successor State as defined in the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. This objection was rejected by the Nagpur Industrial Court by its decision, dated 15th May 1958, reported in 1958 ICR (Bom.) page 1350. The Industrial Court took the view that although there was a common notification referring the industrial disputes between the eleven textile mills and their employees and the subject -matter of the disputes was common, the reference must be deemed to be a separate reference in regard to each mill and its workmen; that thus there were in effect under one notification eleven references of industrial disputes between each of the mills and their workmen; and that consequently by virtue of section 125 (1) of the States Reorganisation Act 1956, the reference, in so far as it related to the disputes with regard to the nine mills was within its cognizance. It appears from the report of that decision that at one stage of the proceedings before the Industrial Court at Nagpur, a reference was made to the Bombay High Court for a decision on the question whether the proceedings, in so far as they related to the nine mills, stood transferred under section 125 of States Reorganisation Act the Industrial Court at Nagpur. According to the report, the Bombay High Court expressed the opinion that a reference under section 125 (2) could be made if a court or tribunal entertained a doubt as to whether a proceeding before it should or should not be transferred to the corresponding Court or tribunal in another State, and that there was no question in the reference made to the Bombay High Court of transfer of any proceeding to a corresponding Court or tribunal in the State of Madhya Pradesh. After this decision, some correspondence was exchanged between the Government Labour Officer, Burhanpur, and the Industrial Court at Nagpur, as also between the Industrial Court, Indore, and the Industrial Court, Nagpur. As a result of this correspondence, the Industrial Court at Indore registered the reference in so far as it related to the petitioner -mills and the B.N.C. Mills Ltd., Rajnandgaon. 3. While the reference in regard to the two mills was pending before the Industrial Court, Indore, the Madhya Pradesh Industrial Relations Act, 1960, Which repealed the C.P. and Berar Industrial Disputes Settlement Act, 1947, came into force on 31st December 1960. Section 112, which repealed inter alia the C.P. and Berar Industrial Disputes Settlement Act. 1947, contained a proviso, namely proviso (c), laying down that any proceedings pending before the State Industrial Court the Industrial Court, a District Industrial Court, Labour Court etc, and proceedings relating to the trial of offences punishable under the provisions of the Act repealed, the provisions of the repealed Act shall be continued and completed as if the Act of 1947 had not been repealed, and continued in operation. Subsequently, the M.P. Industrial Relations Act, 1960, was amended by M.P. Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act. 1961. By section 20 of this amending Act, for proviso (c) to section 112 of the principal Act, the following proviso was substituted -