Janardan Sharma, for respondent No.
C. Setalvad, Attorney General for India, R. J. Kolah, N. Andley, J. B. Dadachanji, Rameshwar Nath and P. L. Vohra, for the appellants.
The factory is known as the Porbandar Cement Works.
Thereafter the said award was terminated by the appellant and on disputes arising between it and the respondents another reference was made to the same tribunal for adjudication of the said disputes.
Appeal by special leave from the decision dated March 10, 1958, of the Industrial Tribunal, Rajkot, in Adjudication Case No.
March, 3.
The appellant is a limited companypany and owns and runs a number of cement factories spread out in different States in India as well as in Pakistan.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by GAJENDRAGADKAR, J. Can a registered trade union representing a minority of workmen governed by an award give numberice to the other party intimating its intention to terminate the award under S. 19 6 of the Industrial Disputes Act XIV of 1947 hereinafter called the Act ?
Meanwhile it appears that the Cement Employees Union, which represents the majority of the appellants workmen at Porbandar, instead of giving numberice of termination under s. 19 6 raised disputes with the appellant and the same were referred to the Conciliation Officer.
The appellants case is that the Cement kamdar Mandal was number authorised to terminate either of the two awards under s. 19 6 of the Act, that the second award is thus still in operation, and so the reference is invalid.
In the present proceedings this Union has been impleaded and it has supported the demands made by the Cement Kamdar Mandal in other words, numberwithstanding the rivalry between the two Unions, the demands made by the minority union were supported by the majority union, and in fact, in the appeal before us, it is the latter union that has appeared to companytest the appeal.
That is the short question which arises for decision in the present appeal.
It appears that the registration of the said union was cancelled on July 2,1954, and that led to the formation of two unions of the appellants workmen, the Cement Kamdar Mandal which was registered on July 7, 1954, and the Cement Employees Union which was registered on September 18, 1954.
The Cement Kamdar Mandal gave numberice to the appellants manager on September 23, 1954, purporting to terminate the first award pronounced on September 13, 1949, at the expiration of two months numberice from the date of the said companymunication.
The present appeal has been brought before this Court by the Associated Cement Companies Limited hereinafter called the appellant against their workman hereinafter called the respondents , and it arises from an industrial dispute between them which was referred for adjudication to the Industrial Tribunal for the State of Saurashtra by the Saurashtra Government under s. 10 1 of the Act.
and on receiving a failure report from the officer the Saurashtra Government made the present reference purporting to exercise its jurisdiction under s. 10 1 c of the Act.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Civil Appeal No.
The said demands were referred to the Conciliation Officer for companyciliation but the efforts at companyciliation failed.,
A second award was made on July 24, 1951, by which the earlier award with slight modifications was ordered to companytinue in operation.
When the tribunal began its proceedings the appellant raised four preli minary objections against the companypetence of the reference itself.
This reference ended in an award made on September 13, 1949.
The companytroversy thus raised undoubtedly lies within a narrow companypass but before addressing ourselves to the merits of the dispute, it is necessary to state the material facts which led to the present proceedings.
Several items of demand presented by the respondents companystituted the subject matter of the reference.
It is against this interlocutory judgment and order that the appellant has companye to this Court by special leave.
In the result it set down the reference for further hearing on the merits.
By another letter written on December 20,1954, the same union purported to terminate the second award pronounced on July 24, 1951, in a similar manner.
The tribunal heard parties on these preliminary objections, and by its interlocutory judgment delivered on March 10, 1958, it has found against the appellant on all the points.
67 of 1955.
On November 22, 1954, the said Mandal presented fresh demands most of which were companyered by the two previous awards.
404 of 1958.
An industrial dispute arose between the appellant and the respondents in 1949 and it was referred for adjudication to the industrial tribunal on March 22, 1949.
In the proceedings in respect of both the references the appellants workmen were represented by their Union called Kamdar Mandal, Cement Works, Porbandar.
Efforts at companyciliation having failed the companyciliation officer made a failure report to the Government of Saurashtra the Saurashtra Government, however, did number refer the said dispute for adjudication.
