DEEPAK INDUSTRIES Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal from an order discharging the Rule in a Writ Petition by the appellant.

(2.) THE appellant filed the Writ petition challenging an order being order No. 34 of the judge First Industrial tribunal, West Bengal dated the 17th of August, 1970. The appellant which is a company incorporated under the Indian Companies Act is the proprietor of M/s. New Allenberry Works having its Factory at the Premises No. 62, Hazra Road, Calcutta which employed 300 workmen in its factory. The appellant alleged that the workers of the factory at Hazra Road started absenting themselves from their duties and from the 2nd week of November, 1967 without any prior leave application and sanction. There were also employees who did not join after their expiry of the leave periods and other employees were charge-sheeted and after holding due enquiry on notice to them, they were duly dismissed. Some of the employees left the employment without notice and in this way the employees contravened the relevant provisions of the certified standing order and the appellant after taking appropriate proceedings has duly dismissed a total number of 174 workers on various counts as stated in the petition.

(3.) IT is an admitted position that the 174 dismissed workmen of the appellant were not members of the Union which espoused their cause before the tribunal and it is also an admitted position that there is no resolution either of the general body of the workmen of the appellant or of the executive body of the Union and it is also an admitted position that the said 174 dismissed workmen either individually nor as a body authorised the Union to espouse their cause before the said tribunal. In these circumstances, the appellant contended that there existed no Industrial dispute within the meaning of section 2 (k) of the Industrial disputes Act, 1947. The appellant further contended that there existed no union of the workmen in the name of new Allenberry Workers' Union at the material time and none of the said 174 workers were the members of the said union and as such it had no representative capacity so far as the said employees of the appellants were concerned. The appellant also alleged that the Tribunal had no jurisdiction as there was no industrial dispute and the order of reference by the Government of West Bengal, Labour Department dated the 20th of November, 1968 was incompetent.