(Ranjan Gogoi and Prafulla C. Pant, JJ.)
Civil Appeal No. 6686/2015
Moil Janshakti Mazdoor Sangh _________________________ Appellant
v.
Moil Kamgar Sangathan & Ors. _______________________ Respondent
With
Civil Appeal No. 9894 of 2016
[Arising out of Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 22766/2016]
Maharashtra Electrosmeit Kamgar Union
v.
Deputy Director (IR) Ministry of Labour and Employment & Ors.
Civil Appeal No. 6686 of 2015 and Civil Appeal No. 9894 of 2016 [Arising out of Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 22766/2016], decided on September 29, 2016
The Order of the court was delivered by
Order
1. Leave granted in Special Leave Petition (civil) No. 22766 of 2016.
2. The issue arising in the present appeals lie within a very short compass. It will therefore be hardly necessary to go into a detailed recitals of facts and circumstances leading to the institution of the writ petitions before the High Court. Suffice it will be to notice the core question arising, namely, whether in the State of Maharashtra verification of membership of trade unions is required to be done by the procedure of secret ballot.
3. In the order impugned in Civil Appeal No. 6686 of 2015, the High Court, relying on a Full Bench decision in the case of Air India Employees Guild and another v. Air India Ltd. and others [2007 (1) Bom. CR 529], has held that the Government of India letter dated 1st June, 2010 containing the decision to conduct verification of membership of trade unions by secret ballot would not apply in view of the fact that the same would be derogatory to the code of discipline. In this regard, what must be noticed is that in the State of Maharashtra there is specific statute, i.e. Maharashtra Recognition of Trade Unions and Prevention of Unfair Labour Practices Act, 1971 which, inter alia, governs the procedure for verification of membership of unions. This being an admitted fact, it is the procedure prescribed under the said statute which must govern the field. The order of the High Court, therefore, to the extent that the same applies to the State of Maharashtra would not call for any interference. We however clarify that the issue with regard to other States is left open for decision. Civil Appeal No. 6686 of 2015 is disposed of accordingly with the aforesaid modification.
4. Insofar as Civil Appeal arising out of Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 22766 of 2016 is concerned, the decision therein adverse to the appellant flows from a finding of the High Court that the statutes in question i.e. Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946 and Maharashtra Recognition of Trade Unions and Prevention of Unfair Labour Practices Act, 1971 do not apply to industries where the appropriate Government is the Central Government. The said conclusion has been recorded by the High Court by relying on the provisions of Section 2(a) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. In this regard, learned counsel for the appellant has taken us through the provisions of Section 2 of the Trade Unions Act, 1926 which defines the appropriate Government in relation to Trade Unions whose objects are not confined to one State as the Central Government and in relation to other Trade Unions, the State Government. It is not in dispute that the appellant – trade union operates within the State of Maharashtra and, therefore, by virtue of Section 2 of the Trade Unions Act, 1926, the appropriate Government is not the Central Government but is the State Government. Having considered the object of the two enactments i.e. Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and the Trade Unions Act, 1926, we are of the view that the High Court could not have overlooked the provisions of Section 2 of the Trade Unions Act, 1926 to hold that the provisions of the Maharashtra Statutes will have no application to the establishment in question. In that view of the matter, the order of the High Court impugned in Civil Appeal arising out of Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 22766 of 2016 will have to be set aside which we hereby do. The appeal is allowed accordingly.
5. Both the appeals are disposed of in the above terms.
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