Supreme Court of India
HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AND ANR.versusGUJARAT KISHAN MAZDOOR PANCHAYAT AND ORS.
- Citation
- 2003 INSC 157
- Decided
- 10 March 2003
- Disposal
- Appeal(s) allowed
- Bench
- V N KHARE
Holding
Section 10(2) of the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946 does not restrict the mode of appointment of the President, and the nominee satisfied the eligibility criteria under Section 10(4), making the appointment valid.
Summary
The Gujarat Government appointed Shri N.A. Acharya as President of the Industrial Court by nomination, invoking draft recruitment rules prepared by the High Court. The Gujarat Kishan Mazdoor Panchayat challenged the appointment, arguing that Section 10(2) of the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946 required the President to be a sitting member of the Court, and that the appointment violated Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. The Gujarat High Court held the appointment illegal, quashing the notification. On appeal, the Supreme Court examined the statutory language and held that Section 10(2) merely prescribes the composition of the Court and does not restrict the mode of appointment; eligibility is governed by Section 10(4). The Court found that the appointee satisfied the eligibility criteria and that the High Court’s interpretation was erroneous. Consequently, the Supreme Court allowed the appeals, upheld the appointment, and dismissed the writ petitions.
Issues considered
- Whether Section 10(2) of the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946 mandates that the President of the Industrial Court must be a current member of the Court.
- Whether the appointment of Shri N.A. Acharya by nomination complies with the eligibility criteria laid down in Section 10(4) of the Act.
- Whether the appointment violates Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India.
- Whether the High Court erred in interpreting the statutory scheme governing the appointment of the President.
Legislation cited
- Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946s. 10(2), s. 10(4)
- Constitution of Indias. Article 14, s. Article 16, s. Article 217, s. Article 234
Subjects
Industrial ArbitrationAppointmentEligibilitySection 10Bombay Industrial Relations ActNominationPromotionConstitutional LawArticles 14 and 16Article 234Purposive constructionQuo warranto
Judgment
HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AND ANR. A
v.
GUJARAT KISHAN MAZDOOR PANCHAYAT AND ORS.
MARCH l 0, 2003
[V.N. KHARE, CJ., S.B. SINHA AND B
DR. AR. LAKSHMANAN, JJ.]
Bombay °Industrial Relations Act, 1946-Section 10(2) and (4)-
Appointment-Post of President of Court of Industrial Arbitration-Eligibility
criteria for the appointment determined by High Court and the same C
incorporated in Draft Recruitment Rules-Recommendation by administrative
side of High Court for appointment by nomination from judicial service-
Appointment done by State Government challenged-High Court held the
appointment illegal as in view of Section I 0(2) being a member of the Court
was condition precedent for being appointed to the post of President-On D
appeal, held: Appointment is valid and the same is not in breach of Section
I 0(2) of the Act and Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution-Appointee is
eligible for the post-Section I 0(2) deals with composition ofIndustrial Court
and not on mode of appointment-Constitution of India, 1950-Articles 14
and 16-Handbook of Guidelines on Recruitment Rules of Officers under
Labour and Employment Department, Government of Gujarat-Item 34. E
Preparation of recruitment rules for the post of President of the
Court of Industrial Arbitration was under consideration by High Court
and as the post of President of Industrial Court was to fall vacant since
the retirement of its previous President, State Government sent a
_.J
representation to the High Court for consideration as to by which m·ode, F
the post of the President was to be filled up. The matter was placed
before Standing Committee of High Court which decided that the post
was to be filled by nomination under Rule 2(b) of the proposed rules, as
none of the then existing members of the Industrial Court were eligible
to be appointed to the post by promotion. Nine Judicial Officers expressed G
their willingness for being considered for the post. The Standing
Committee after considering the recruitment rules particularly the
provisions regarding eligibility, experience and age of superannuation
etc. for the post recommended the name of one of the judicial officers to
the State Government for appointment by nomination for the post.
H
799
800 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2003] 2 S.C.R.
A Representation against the recommendation was also heard. Senior most -~
member of the Industrial court also expressed his unwillingness to be
appointed as President. State Government appointed the appointee to the
post by a notification. Writ petitions were filed challenging the
appointment. It was alleged that the appointment was illegal because in
B view of scheme of Section 10(2) of Bombay Industrial Act, 1949 only a
member of Industrial Court could be appointed as its President; and that
even if it is assumed that appointment on the post could be made by
nomination, as per the old recruitment rules and new draft rules, the
appointee in the present case did not possess adequate qualification.
Appellant-High Court countered the allegation contending that High Court
C had recommended the name of the appointee under Rule 2(b) of Draft
Recruitment Rules and the appointee also fulfilled the criteria prescribed --...
as per old rules. Full Bench of the High Court held that being a member
of the Industrial Court is a prerequisite and condition precedent for
being the President of the Court; that the only relevant provision for
D recruitment to the post of President is Section IO of the Act, hence there
was no lawful justification for keeping the members of the Industrial
Court out of consideration on the basis of the proposed Draft Rules.
In appeal to this Court appellants contended that Section 10(4) of
the Act provides for eligibility criteria and the same is fulfilled by the
E appointee; and that High Court proceeded on an erroneous footing that
the Act did not contemplate the appointment by direct recruitment and
only members of the Industrial Court formed the zone of consideration
for appointment to the post of President.
Respondent contended that the plain and natural meaning of Section
F 10(2) of the Act is capable of only one construction i.e. only members of
the Industrial Court could become its President; th.at the appointee does
not fulfil any of the three eligibility conditions mentioned in Section I 0( 4)
of the Act; that even assuming that the appointment to the post of
President could be made through nomination or direct recruitment, all
G the members of the Industrial Court were qualified for being appointed
by nomination in accordance with the draft Rules, and hence the .
appointment of the appointee straight away by nomination without taking
them into consideration is violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the
Constitution;
H Allowing the appeals, the Court
>-..
HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT'· GUJARATKISHAN MAZDOOR PANCHAYAT 80 I
HELD: Per Lakshmanan, J. (for himself and CJ!) A
1. There is neither illegality nor arbitrariness is taking the decision
of recommending the name of the appointee for appointment on the post
of President, Industrial Court. The decision to fill up the post of President
of the Industrial Court by way of nomination as provided under the
Rules, was arrived at, after considering all aspects, not only that the B
process of selecting the person to be recommended to the Government
was also taken transparently and before taking the decision, the matter
was considered from time and again by the Standing Committee of the
High Court and after due consideration and deliberations the decision
was taken to recommend the name of the appointee. 1819-A-C]
c
2. It is seen from the records that at the request of the Government,
the eligibility criteria for appointment on the post of President, Industrial
Court has been determined by the High Court and the same has been
incorporated in the Draft Recruitment Rules. The appointee is eligible
for the post of the President, Industrial Court, as he has completed ten D
years service in judiciary including the period of practice at the Bar.
(819-Df
3. In the case of appointment of President of the Industrial Court
by nomination, it is not necessary that he must be appointed as Member
at the first instance. Section 10(2) of the Bombay Industrial Regulations E
Act, 1949 deals with the composition of Industrial Court, which does not
lay down the mode of appointment. The words of Section 10(2) of the Act
are not that the President shall be appointed from one of the current
members of the Industrial Court. High Court has erroneously read these
words in Section 10(2) of the Act. A reading of the provisions of Section
10 of the Act clearly spells out that, apart from the mode of selecting the F
President by promotion amongst the Members, the President can also
directly be appointed from the sitting or retired High Court Judges or
from the Judges of City Civil Court, Ahmedabad and District Judges,
who fulfill the eligibility requirement for appointment as Member of the
Industrial Court. High Court failed to appreciate that once a person is G
appointed as the President of the Industrial Court, he automatically
becomes a Member. Section 10(2) of the Act only envisages that the
President is the senior Member of t!te.industrial Court is inherent in his
appointment as Member of the Industrial Court. The proposed
Recruitment Rules were framed by the High Court at the request of the
Government and pending approval of the Government. The appointment H
802 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] 2 S.C.R.
A of the appointee as President of the Industrial Court is not in breach of
Section 10(2) of the Act and also not violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the
Constitution of India. By recommending the appointment in question,
High Court had not only acted within its rights but the same had been
done in due discharge of the constitutional duty. 1820-B-FI
B 4. The existing Recruitment Rules did not comply with the provision
of Article 234 of the Constitution of India. The State Government,
therefore, referred to the High Court for consultation and approval of
the Rules. The administrative side of the High Court framed the Draft
Rules and the appointment offered to the appointee was in accordance
C with the Draft Rules. This apart, the eligibility criteria for appointment
on the post of President of the Industrial Court has been determined by
the High Court and the same has been incorporated in the Draft
Recruitment Rules at the request of the Government. 1821-E-Fl
State of Maharashtra v. Labour law Practitioners' Association and
D Ors., 1199812 sec 688, referred to.
Per Sinha, J (Supplementing)
I.I. Section 10(2) of Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1949 did not
impose any restriction on the power of the State to appoint a Member or
E a President. The said provision merely speaks of the composition of the
Court of Industrial Arbitration. The expression 'shall consist of three or
more Members' is important. By necessary implication a President of the
Court of Industrial Arbitration would also have to be a Member and
preci~ely that was the reason why no separate qualification for the
F appointment of a President has been laid down in the Act. Sub-section (4)
of Section IO of the Act lays down the eligibility criteria of a Member
only. It is, therefore, significant that for the purpose of appointment of a
Member as also the President of the Court of Industrial Arbitration the
eligibility criteria remain the same. The legitimate expectation of a
Member to be promoted to the Post of the Chairman thus, have no
G relevance as nobody has a vested right to be promoted. 1822-F-H; 823-AI
1.2. It may be true that reference has been made by the High Court
while making the recommendations to the draft rules known as Draft
Recruitment Rules but it appears from the records that the said draft
rules, purported to have been framed by the High Court for replacing
H the Recruitment Rules for the Post of President as contained at Item 34
}....
HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT,, GUJARAT KISHAN MAZDOOR PANCHAYAT 803
in the Handbook of Guidelines on Recruitment Rules of Officers under A
Labour and Employment Department, Government of Gujarat,
Gandhinagar, of December, 1990, were published in the year 1992. It is
now trite that draft rules which are made to lie in a nascent state for a
long time cannot be the basis for making appointment or recommendation.
Rules even in their draft stage can be acted upon provided there is a B
clear intention on the part of the Government to enforce those rules in
the near future. (823-B-DI
Vimal Kumari v. State ofHaryana and Ors., (199814SCCt14, referred to.
1.3. Section 10(4) o·f the Act states that a Member of the Industrial
Court shall be a person who is or has been a Judge of High Court or is C
eligible for being appointed a Judge of such Court. Article 217 of the
Constitution of India inter a/ia lays down the qualification to be possessed
by a citizen for his appointment as a High Court Judge. It has not been
and could not be disputed that the appointee has the requisite qualification.
The other and further qualifications for appointment of a member have D
been laid down in the provisos appended thereto. The qualifications
specified in the said provis'ls are meant for those who do not satisfy the
requirement of main provision. First and Second provisos appended to
sub-section (4) of Section l 0 are exceptions to the main provision. Once it
is held that sitting judicial officers can be appointed either as Member or
President of the Court of Industrial Arbitration, indisputably the High E
Court is required to be consulted therefor. It is for the High Court and
High Court alone to nominate a person of its choice. Such a practice is
followed by all the High Courts of the country and although the ultimate
authority is the State, the recommendations made by the High Court is
normally accepted. [823-E-Gl F
1.4. A statute must be interpreted having regard to the purport and
object which it seeks to achieve. The object of the Act is to constitute
Industrial Arbitration Court for the purpose of adjudication of the
disputes between the management and the workmen. Such courts which
are normally manned by the judicial officers cannot be kept vacant for a G
long time. Whenever they are meant to be filled up by the sitting judicial
officers, consultation with the High Court is imperative. [823-H; 824-AJ
Public Services Tribunal Bar Association v. State of UP. and Anr.,
(2003) AIR SCW 653, referred to.
H
804 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] 2 S.C.R.
A 1.5. Even if it be assumed that the provisions of Sub-section (2) and
sub-section (4) of Section IO of the Act render two different meanings, it
is trite, that in such an event the rule of purposive construction should be
taken recourse to. [824-Bf
Jt. Registrar of Cdoperative Societies, Kera/a v. TA. Kuttappan and
B Ors. [2000[ 6 SCC 127; Associated Timber Industries and Ors. v. Central
Bank of India and Anr., [2000[ 7 SCC 93; United Bank of India, Calcutta v.
Abhijit Tea Co. Pvt. Ltd and Ors., [2000] 7 SCC 357; K. Duraisamy and
Anr. v. State of TN. and Ors., [2001 J 2 SC\ 538; Reserve Bank of India v.
Peerless Co., [1987( I SCC 424; Hameedia Hardware Stores v. B. Mohan
C Lal Sowcar, [1988( 2 SCC 513; Punjab Land Development and Reclamation
Corporation Ltd, Chandigarh v. Presiding Officer, Labour Court, Chandigarh
and Ors., [1990( 3 SCC 682; S. Gopa/ Reddy v. State of Andhra Pradesh,
[1996( 4 sec 596, referred to.
DPP v. Schildkamp (1971) AC I; Jones v. Wrotham Park Settled Estates,
D (1980) AC 74, referred to.
The Interpretation and Application of Statutes by Reed Dickersen;
Principles of Statutory Interpretation ofJustice G.P. Singh, 5th Edition, 1992,
referred to.
E 1.6. The Court while interpreting the provision of a statute, although,
is not entitled to re-write the statute itself, is not debarred from "ironing
out the creases". The court should always make an attempt to uphold the
rules and interpret the same in such a manner which would make it
workable. [825-Ef
F 1.7. An attempt should be made to give effect to each and every
word employed in a statute and such interpretation which would render
a particular provision redundant or otiose should be avoided. [825-E, Ff
1.8. The purport and object of the Statute is to see that a Tribunal
becomes functional and as such the endeavours of the Court would be to
G see that to achieve the same, an interpretation of Section I 0 of the Act be
made in such a manner so that appointment of a President would be
possible even at the initial constitution thereof. Such a construction is
permissible by taking recourse to the doctrine of strained construction.
[826-D, EJ
H Statutory Interpretation by Francis Bennion, referred to.
HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT•·. GUJARAT Kl SHAN MAZDOOR PANCHA VAT 805
1.9. If the interpretation of Section I 0 of the Act as propounded by A
the High Court is accepted, no President can be appointed directly by tile
State at the time of constitution of the Court. Such a situation, therefore,
would lead to absurdity if it is held that the candidate must first be
appointed as a Member and the Post of President can be filled up inter
alia by way of promotion or otherwise. When literal interpretation of a B
provision leads to absurdity or manifest injustice, it is trite, the same
must be avoided. 1830-F, G)
I.I 0. If the legislature intended to lay down different qualifications
or eligibility criteria for the President and the Members, it would have
expressly stated so. In absence of an express provision providing either C
for different qualification or eligibility criteria or the selection process,
the same procedure for appointment must be followed. 1830-H; 831-A)
I.I I. Both under the existing rules as also the Draft Rules, the mode
and manner of appointment have been laid down. Even in absence of the
Draft Rules in terms of Rule 34 of the Recruitment Rules for the President D
of Industrial Court appointment can be made by nomination. Thus,
appointment to the Post of President could be m.ade by way of nomination
also subject to the nominees holding requisite qualifications laid down
therefor. 1831-B, CJ
2.1. Non-mentioning or wrong mentioning of a provision of law E
would not invalidate an order if a source therefor can be found out either
under general law or a statute law. (831-CI
2.2. When there are two sources of power, even if one is not
applicable, the other will not become invalid if the power of the statutory F
authority can be traced to another source. 1831-DI
3.1. With a view to find out as to whether a case has been made out
for issuance of quo warranto, the only question which was required to be
considered was as to whether the appointee fulfilled the qualifications
laid down under Section I 0(4) of the Act or not. The Full Bench of the G
High Court has mainly proceeded on the basis that the Industrial Court
was required to have three or more members, one of whom shall be
President as specified in sub-section (2) of Section I 0 and, thus, a person
before he is appointed as the President must necessarily be appointed as
a Member. 1822-D-F)
H
806 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] 2 S.C.R.
A 3.2. High Court in exercise of its writ jurisdiction in a matter of
this nature is required to determine at the outset as to whether a case has
been made out for issuance of a writ of certiorari or a writ of quo warranto.
The jurisdiction of the High Court to issue a writ of quo warranto is a
limited one. While issuing such a writ, the Court merely makes a public
B declaration but will not consider the respective impact of the candidates
or other factors which may be relevant for issuance of writ of certiorari.
A _writ of quo warranto can only be issued when the appointment is
contrary to statutory rules. [822-A-C]
R.K. Jain v. Union of India and Ors., [1993) 4 SCC 119 and Mor
C Modern Cooperative Transport Society ltd. v. Financial Commissioner and
Secretary to Government of Haryana and Anr., [2002) 6 SCC 269, referred
to.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal Nos. 8574-
8577 of 200 I.
D
From the Judgment and Order dated 4 ..'i.200 I of the Gujarat High
Court in S.C. Appln. Nos. 12665/2000, 79, 80 and 93 of 2001.
Mahendra Anand, S.K. Dholakia and M.S. Hemantika Wahi for the
Appellants.
E
R. Venkataramani, Vimal Chandra S. Dave, Ms. Neelam Kalsi, P.K.
Manohar, Vijay Kumar for Vishwajit Singh and Sanjay Kapur for the
Respondents.
The Judgments of the Court was delivered by
F
AR. LAKSHMANAN, J. By these four appeals, we are called upon to
consider the legality, correctness and validity of the impugned Notification
dated 7.12.2000 appointing Shri N.A. Acharya as the President of the Industrial
Court at Ahmedabad. A Notification dated 7.12.2000, in this regard, was
issued by the order of Governor by the Labour ar.d Employment Department
G of the Government of Gujarat in the Gujarat Government Gazette whereby
-
Shri N. A. Acharya had been appointed as the President of the Industrial
Court which was under challenge before the High Court of Gujarat in Special
Civil Application Nos. 12665/2000, 79/200 I, 80/200 I and 93/200 I filed by
Gujarat Kishan Mazdoor Panchayat, Gujarat Industrial Court Judges'
H Association, Labour Laws Practitioners' Association and Surat Textile Labour
HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT" GUJARAT Kl SHAN MAZDOOR PANCHAYAT [AR. LAKSHMANAN, J.] 807
Union. As per the directions of the Chief Justice, the applications were placed A
before the Full Bench of the Gujarat High Court. The Full Bench, by its
judgment dated 4.5.200 I, allowed the applications and quashed the said
Notification dated 7.12.2000. The Full Bench further directed the respondents
to proceed to make the appointment afresh on the post of the President of the
Industrial Court, Gujarat in the light of what has been held in the said order B
and in accordance with law. Aggrieved by the order passed by the Full Bench
of the High Court, the High Court of Gujarat through its Registrar preferred
Special Leave Petition (C) Nos. 11795-11798/200 I on the grounds raised in
the special leave petitions. By order dated 14.12.200 I, this Court granted
leave and made the interim order absolute.
All these appeals involve common question of law based on same set
c
of facts, therefore, we propose to decide these appeals by a common judgment.
A Special Civil Application was filed by the Gujarat Kishan Mazdoor
Panchayat, a Registered Trade Union to direct the respondents therein not to
make any appointments on the post of President of the Industrial Court save
and except by appointing any Member of the Industrial Court as President D
and other allied reliefs. A prayer to issue a writ of quo warranto was also
asked for to direct Shri N.A. Acharya - respondent No3 in the application
to state the basis of his right to be appointed as President of the Industrial
Court and to set aside and quash the appointment order dated 7.12.2000
purporting to appoint Shri N .A. Acharya as President of the Industrial Court. E
The brief facts leading to the filing of the applications are briefly stated
as under:
The Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946 (hereinafter referred to as
"the B.l.R. Act") governs the relationship between the employers and workmen F
in several industries operating in Gujarat and more particularly, the Industry
of Textile, the Industry of Power in the late Bombay State area of Gujarat,
the Surat Industry, the Banking Industry run by Banking Companies having
no branches outside the State of Gujarat. Sections 9 and IO of the B.l.R. Act
thereof provide for setting up of Labour Courts and Industrial Court. Section
IO of the B.l.R. Act, which pertains to the setting up of a Court of Industrial G
Arbitration to be known as Industrial Cou11, is provided to consist of three
or more Members, one of whom shall be its President. Section 10(4) of the
B.l.R. Act provides that every Member of the Industrial Court shall be a
person who is or has been a Judge of High Court or is eligible for being
appointed a Judge of such Court provided, inter alia, that a person who has H
808 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2003] 2 S.C.R.
A been a Judge not lower in rank than that of Assistant Judge, for not less than
three years; or a person who has been the Presiding Officer of a Labour
Court for not less than five years shall also be eligible for appointment as a
Memb~r of the Industrial Court. According to the respondents, there are
twelve Members of the Industrial Court functioning in .Gujarat State and so
far as the Labour Courts are concerned, there are 38 Judges functioning in
B Gujarat, four of them are Judges who have completed more than ten years'
service as Labour Judges and several more Labour Judges are those who
have completed more than five years' service as Labour Judges and are,
therefore, eligible for being appointed as Members of the Industrial Court.
When the post of President of the Industrial Court was vacant since the
C retirement of Shri D.V. Joshi, Shri Y.P. Bhatt, the senior-most Member of
the Industrial Court expressed his unwillingness to be appointed as President
of the Industrial Court, the post was, therefore, required to be filled up by
a regular appointment. According to. the respondents, a person for being
appointed as President should be a Member of the Industrial Court and no
one except a Member can be appointed as a President of the Industrial Court.
D It was, therefore, submitted before the High Court that anyone from the
Members of the Industrial Court can be considered to be eligible for being
appointed as President. It was further submitted that in view of the scheme
of Section 10(2) of the B.l.R. Act, no one who is not a Member of the
Industrial Court can be directly appointed as President of the Industrial Court.
E It was further argued before the High court that for Members of the Industrial
Court, there is no other avenue of promotion except one by way of appointment
as President of the Industrial Court and now, if the post of President is to be
filled up by bringing someone from Judicial Service, it will cause a great
frustration among Members of the Industrial Court as their hopes of promotion
at an appropriate time will be dashed to the ground. Opposing the applications,
F it was submitted by the respondents, appellants herein, that no illegality was
committed by recommending the name of Shri N.A. Acharya for appointment
as the President of the Industrial Court and that under Rules 2 and 3 of the
Draft Recruitment Rules, it has become necessary for the High Court, on its
administrative side, to recommend the appointment of an appropriate person
G by nomination on the said post under Rule 2(b) and that Shri N.A. Acharya,
whose name was recommended, is fulfilling the criteria prescribed by the
Government as per the old Rules as well. It was submitted that considering
the totality of the facts, the High Court of Gujarat had not only acted within
its rights but the same had been done in due discharge of the Constitutional
duty. The petitioners, respondents herein, filed their rejoinder to the reply
H affidavit on behalf of the High Court of Gujarat reiterating the contentions
HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT'· GUJARAT KISHAN MAZDOOR PANCHA YAT [AR. LAKSHMANAN, l.] 809
raised in the applications. In the rejoinder affidavit, it was submitted that A
neither the appointment order nor the reply affidavit filed on behalf of the
High Court shows that the appointment was made by the Governor of the
State and that there is nothing to show that the Full Court was consulted by
the appointing authority before making the appointment. It was further stated
that assuming that the appointment by nomination can be made on the post
of a President of the Industrial Court either under the old Rules pertaining to B
the post of President or under the new Rules which are at the draft stage only,
the candidate concerned should have atleast for ten years either held a judicial
post in India or should have been an advocate for High Court or should have
expert knowledge of Industrial matters. According to the petitioners,
respondents herein, the appointee, under the impugned appointment, had not C
hold a judicial post for ten years and in fact he was holding the post of Joint
District Judge only and he had not even completed three years on the post
of Additional District Judge to which post he was directly recruited. It was,
therefore, submitted that the appointment had been made without coming to
the conclusion that the appointee was fulfilling the criteria for appointment
as required by the Rules. An affidavit in reply was filed before the High D
Court by the Law Officer of the High Court of Gujarat giving all details as
to how the matter was considered by the Standing Committee of the High
Court and as to how the decision was taken to appoint Shri N.A. Acharya as
the President of the Industrial Court.
The Full Bench of the High Court, by its judgment, held that a reading E
of Section 10 of the B.l.R. Act would show that it provides for the constitution
of the Industrial Court with three or more Members, one of whom as its
President and it also provides the eligibility for appointment as Member of
the Industrial Court. While the eligibility has been prescribed under Section
10(3) and (4) of the B.l.R. Act for being a Member of the Industrial Court, F
for the purpose of President of the Industrial Court all that has been said in
sub-section (2) of Section I 0 of the B.l.R. Act is that one of the Members
.shall be its President. Therefore, being a Member of the Industrial Court is
a pre-requisite and condition precedent for being the President of the Industrial
Court and no person can be appointed as the President of the Industrial Court
unless he is a Member of the Industrial Court. The Full Bench further held G
that the absence of any Rules with regard to the appointment on the post of
President of the Industrial Court except the existing Draft Rules framed by
the High Court and the Rules as had been framed under proviso to Article
309 of the Constitution vide Gujarat Government Gazette dated 25.2.1965
being only for recruitment for the post of Member, Industrial Court and the H
810 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] 2 S.C.R.
A Rules for appointment of President, Industrial Court as contained in the Hand
Book ( 1992) that too not in consultation with the High Court, the only relevant
provision which can be traced is Section I 0 of the B.l.R. Act and according
to Section 10(2) of the B.l.R. Act, one of the Members of the Industrial Court
has to be the President. The Full Bench further held that there was no lawful
justification for excluding the candidates, who were holding the post of
B Member, Industrial Court and whereas they have been kept out of consideration
on the basis of the proposed Draft Rules, the consideration for making the
appointment to the post in question stands vitiated. Elaborating further, the
Full Bench held :
"..... .In the first instance, there is no question of appointment by
c nomination on the basis of the proposed Draft Rules by holding that
existing Members were not eligible because they have not completed
five years as Member. In a given case when the only mode of
appointment is promotion and it is found that no one is eligible for
appointment by promotion, it may be open to make appointment by
D direct recruitment, which would mean inviting application from all
eligible ca'1didates and then making the selection. No such procedure
has been followed and the consideration was kept confined to the
Members of the Judicial Services, who had conveyed their willingness
for appointment as President of the Industrial Court. We find that the
procedure, which has been adopted and which has led to the impugned
E appointment, is not in conformity either with the general right of
equality under Article 14 of the Constitution of India and with the
right of equality in matters relating to employment as contemplated
by Article 16 of the Constitution of India and, therefore, this
appointment cannot be sustained in the eye of law.
F
It is also not in dispute that the respondent No.3 had never been
appointed as Member of the Industrial Court and in terms of Section
G I 0(2) of the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, without being a Member
of the Industrial Court, there is no question of his appointment as the
President of the Industrial Court either by promotion or by direct
recruitment. Being a Member of the Industrial Court is a sine qua
non for consideration for the post of President of the Industrial Court
H and no person who is not a Member of Industrial Court could be
HIGHCOURTOF GUJARAT,. GUJARATKISHANMAZDOOR PANCHAYAT [AR. LAKSHMANAN, J] 811
considered for appointment as such without committing violence to A
the recruitment of Section 10(2) ..
........... In the instant case, we find that the mode of direct B
recruitment is not contemplated and even if any direct recruitment is
held for the post of President of Industrial Court when no Member is
eligible, such direct recruitment is required to be held after affording
equal opportunity to all those, who are eligible. The proposed Draft
Rules 2(a) seeks to render the Members of the Industrial Court to be C
ineligible by putting the condition of the completion of 5 years service
on the post of Member. When the Act has not put any such fetter and
the Act contemplates that one of the Members of the Industrial Court
shall be the President and it is not stated that he must complete
certain years of service as Member, through executive instructions
such a requirement could not be pressed so as to defeat the right of D
consideration of the Members of the Industrial Court for consideration
of the post of the President. Under Section I 0(2) every Member of
the Industrial Court is eligible to be considered for the post of President
notwithstanding the number of years of service put in by him as a
Member.
E
In our considered opinion, Section 10 of the Bombay Industrial
Relations Act, 1946 is the only relevant provision to be taken note of
for the purpose of appointment of the President and the only mode
of appointment is by way of promotion from amongst the Members
of the Industrial Court and in this regard, if any Rules are to be F
framed in exercise of the powers under Chapter VI of Part VI of the
Constitution of India, the same cannot be inconsistent with the
requirements of the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946 ........ "
The High Court, for the reasons stated above, quashed the Notification
which is impugned in the applications and further directed the respondents G
therein to proceed to make the appointment afresh on the post of the President
of the Industrial Court, Gujarat in the light of what has been held in the said
order and in accordance with law.
Aggrieved by the impugned judgment, the above four appeals, by way
of special leave petitions, were preferred by the High Court of Gujarat. We H
,.;:
812 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] 2 S.C.R.
A heard Shri Mahendra Anand, learned senior counsel, for the appellants and
Shri R. Venkataramani, learned senior counsel, for the contesting respondents.
Learned senior counsel appearing for the appellants submitted that the
provisions of Section 10 of the B.l.R. Act clearly spells out that apart from
the mode of selecting the President, by promotion from amongst the Members,
B the President can also directly be appointed from the sitting or retired High
Court Judges. He further submitted that the High Court failed to appreciate
that Section 10(2) of the B.I.R. Act does not envisage the mode of appointment
and that the High Court failed to appreciate that the words of Section 10(2)
of the B.l.R. Act are not that the President shall be appointed from one of the
C current Members of the Industrial Court and, therefore, the High Court has
erroneously read these words in Section 10(2) of the B.l.R. Act. He further
submitted that the High Court failed to appreciate that Section 10(4) of the
B.l.R. Act provides for eligibility criteria and Shri N.A. Acharya fulfills the
eligibility criteria. He further submitted that the High Court proceeded on an
erroneous footing that the B.l.R. Act does not contemplate the appointment
D by direct recruitment and only the Members of the Industrial Court from the
zone of consideration for appointment to the post of President, Industrial
Court.
Per contra, Shri R. Venkataramani, learned senior counsel, appearing
for the respondents, apart from reiterating the contentions in the applications,
E submitted that Section 10(2) of the B.l.R. Act clearly indicates that only
Member of Industrial Court is eligible for becoming the President of the
Industrial Court and that becoming Member of the Industrial Court is sine
qua non for being considered for the post of President of the Industrial Court.
According to him, Shri N.A. Acharya does not fulfil any of the three eligibility
F conditions mentioned in Section 10(4) of the B.l.R. Act and that mandatory
consultation with the Gujarat Public Service Commission was not followed.
He further urged that the plain and natural meaning of Section I 0(2) of the
B.l.R. Act is capable of only one construction and that is only Members of
the Industrial Court could become its President. He further submitted that
unless one is or has been the Judge of the High Court, the post of the
G President of the Industrial Court could be filled up only and only by way of
promotion, because there exist only one post for the whole State of Gujarat.
He further contended that the impugned appointment was void and stillborn
since the same was not made by His Excellency, the .Governor of Gujarat, but
the same was purported to have been made in the name of the Governor of
H Gujarat. It was further contended that the appointment on a judicial post can
--.
HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT,. GUJARAT Kl SHAN MAZDOOR PANCHA VAT [AR LAKSHMANAN, J] 8 J3
.~-
be made only by His Excellency, the Governor, under Article 234 of the A
Constitution of India and the State Government cannot issue Notification
appointing Judicial Officer under the business rules by and in the name of
His Excellency, the Governor of the State. He further submitted that even
assuming the appointment to the post of President can be made through
nomination or direct recruitment, all the Members of the Industrial Court
were qualified for being appointed as President of the Industrial Court by B
nomination in accordance with the Draft Rules that were relied upon by the
Government supporting the appointment of Shri N.A. Acharya and that the
Members of the Industrial Court were eligible for appointment by nomination
according to the Draft Rules also and that Rule 2(ii) of the Draft Rules
provides, inter alia, that appointment to the post of President shall be made c
either (a) by promotion from amongst the Members of the Industrial Court
"'--
on the basis of seniority-cum-merit subject to the provision that for being
considered as eligible for such promotion, the Member concerned should
have completed five years' service as a Member of the Industrial Court; (b)
by nomination. Draft Rule 3, inter alia, provides that to be eligible for
appointment by nc,mination, a candidate must have atleast ten years either D
held a judicial post in India or been an Advocate of High Court or have
expert knowledge of industrial matters. It was further contended that the
appointment ofShri N.A. Acharya straightaway by nomination without taking
into consideration the cases of nomination of existing Members of the
Industrial Court who had completed ten years' functioning as a Judicial Officer E
has been rightly held by the High Court as violative of Articles I4 and I 6
of the Conslitution of India and that, therefore, no public appointment can be
~ made in disregard of consideration of the cases of those who were qualified
' for the post.
Arguing further, learned senior counsel for the respondents, submitted F
that the appointment ofa Junior Judicial Officer as President of the Industrial
Court without considering the cases of existing Members of the Industrial
... Court who are senior on the basis of longer experience on equivalent post
will also not be conducive to the judicial service which, according to him,
will result in a Junior Judicial Officer presiding over Industrial Court who
have Members far senior to the President and that Junior Judicial Officer will G
thus exercise administrative powers of control over undisputedly Senior
Judicial Officers. It was further submitted that assumir.g that a District Judge
can be directly appointed to the post of President, Industrial Court carrying
a higher pay scale than that of the District Judges in Gujarat, and assuming
that even if somebody is already a Member of the Judiciary, he can be H
814 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] 2 S.C.R.
A nominated or directly appointed and that he did not pass through the channel
of promotion or selection meant for those who are already in service in view
of Article 234 of the Constitution, even in that case, there was no justification
for the High Court on the administrative side to pick up Shri N.A. Acharya
who was 9th in the list of seniority at the relevant time. He submitted that the
B appointment of Shri N .A. Acharya was also vitiated on account of the fact
that if nomination or direct recruitment was a permissible course in the matter
of appointment of the President of the Industrial Court, then a large number
of Labour Court Judges, Advocates apart from the Members of the Industrial
Court who had completed ten years of practice or seven years of judicial
work were also qualified for that appointment and, therefore, they could not
C be excluded from consideration. Concluding his arguments, he submitted that
the High Court's conclusion that Section 10(2) of the B.l.R. Act does not
provide for nomination or direct recruitment and someone has to be appointed
from amongst the Members of the Industrial Court only is correct and that
there is no other provision in the entire B.l.R. Act to provide for the mode
D of appointment of the President of the Industrial Court. In that view, it is
quite reasonable to read Section I 0(2) of the B.l.R. Act as providing that
President ci1n be appointed only from amongst the Members.
We have given our thoughtful consideration on the rival submissions
made by the respective counsel appearing on either side. Before proceeding
E to consider the rival submissions, it is useful to reproduce the relevant
provisions governing the controversy which run as follows:
"Section I 0. Industrial Court.- (I) The State Government shall
constitute a Court of Industrial Arbitration.
(2) The Industrial Court shall consist of three or more members, one
F of whom shall be its President.
(3) Every member of the Industrial Court shall be a person who is not
connected with the industrial dispute referred to such court or with
any industry directly affected by such dispute:
G Provided that no person shall be deemed to be connected with the
industrial dispute or with the industry by reason only of the fact that
he is a shareholder of an incorporated company whi'ch is connected
with, or likely to be affected by such industrial dispute; but in such
a case, he shall disclose to the State Government the nature and
extent of the shares held by him in such company.
H
HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT,. GUJARAT KISH AN MAZDOOR PANCHA YAT [AR. LAKSHMANAN, J.] 8 J5
--- (4) Every member of the Industrial Court shall be a person who is or
has been a judge of High Court or is eligible for being appointed a
A
judge of such Court:
Provided that-
(a) a person who has been a Judge not lower in rank than that of
Assistant Judge, for not less than three years; or B
(b) a person who has been the presiding officer of a Labour Court
constituted under any law for the time being in force, for not
less than five years; or
(c) a person who holds a degree in law of a University established C
by law in any part of India and is holding or has held an office
not lower in rank than that of Assistant Commissioner of Labour
under the Sate Government, for not less than ten years,
shall also be eligible for appointment as a member of the Industrial
Court.
D
Provided further that, one member of the Industrial Court may be
a person not so eligible, if in the opinion of the State Government he
possesses expert knowledge of industrial matters.
DRAFT RULES
I. These rules may be called the Recruitment Rules for the post of E
President, Industrial Court, Gujarat, 1998.
2. The appointment of President, Industrial Court, Gujarat, shall be
made by the Governor of Gujarat, in consultation with the Public
Service Commission and the High Court, either-
F
(a) by promotion from amongst the Members, Industrial Court
on the basis of seniority-cum-merits provided that a person
shall not be eligible to be promoted to the post of President,
Industrial Cou11, unless he has completed five years'
service on the post of Member, Industrial Court, or
G
(b) by nomination.
3. To be eligible for appointment by nomination, mentioned in
Rule 2(b), a candidate must not be connected with any industry
as defined in the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946 and
must H
.(.
.
816 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] 2 S.C.R.
A (i) not be less than 45 years of age, and
(ii) have for at least I 0 years either held a judicial post in
India or been an Advocate for High Court or have expert
knowledge of Industrial matters.
4. A person appointed by direct recruitment shall normally be on
B
probation for a period of one year and shall have to pass an
Examination in Hindi ·and/or Gujarati, according to the Rules
prescribed by the Government.
Existing Rules
c The Recruitment Rules for the post of President, Industrial Court,
is as under:
Unless the post is filled up by appointment of a serving or retired
Judge of High Court, appointment shall be made either (a) by
nomination or (b) by promotion from among the Members of the
D Industrial Court.
To be eligible for appointment by nomination, the candidate must
not be connected with any industry as defined in the Bombay Industrial
Relations Act, 1946 and must-
E (i) not be less than 45 years of age;
(ii) have for atleast I 0 years either held a judicial post in India or
been an Advocate for High Court or have expert knowledge of
Industrial matters."
F In the background of the facts and circumstances and the provisions of
law extracted above, the following points arise for consideration by this
Court :-
(a) What is the true scope and interpretation of Section 10(2) read
with Section I 0(4) of the 8.1.R. Act ? -•
G (b) Whether Section 10(2) of the 8.1.R. Act can be read to mean
that the President of the Industrial Court must be appointed
from among the existing Members of the Industrial Court when
the provision in fact is not in such terms?
(c) Whether the reading of the provisions of Section I0 of the 8.1.R.
H Act clearly spells out that apart from the mode of selecting the
HIGH COURT <i• GUJARAT" GUJARAT KISHAN MAZDOOR PANCHA VAT [AR LAKSHMANAN.J] 8 J7
President, by promotion from amongst the Members, the A
President can also directly be appointed from the sitting or retired
High Court Judges or from the Judges of the City Civil Court,
Ahmedabad and District Judges, who fulfills the eligibility
requirement for appointment as Member of the Industrial Court?
(d) Whether· the High Court has failed to appreciate that Section B
10(2) of the B.LR. Act does not envisage the mode of
appointment?
Our attention was drawn to the relevant pleadings filed before the High
Court and also in this Court
As already noticed, the appointment of Shri N.A. Acharya as the
c
President of the Indl!strial Court vide Notification dated 7.12.2000 issued by
the Labour and Employment Department, Government of Gujarat, is under
challenge by way of these appeals. The circumstances and the process, which
had culminated in the appointment of Shri N.A. Acharya as the President of
the Industrial Court, had been fully narrated in the affidavit in reply filed on D
behalf of respondent No.2 in the High Court. Since Shri D.V. Joshi, who was
working as the President of the Industrial Court, was to retire on 31. 1.2000
• and, therefore, the Labour and Employment Department, Government of
Gujarat, sent a communication dated 7.1.2000 to the High Court of Gujarat,
inter alia, stating therein that, due to the retirement of Shri D.V. Joshi, the E
post will fall vacant and the question of preparing recruitment Rules for the
post of President of the Industrial Court is under consideration by the High
Court and till the Rules are not finalized, Government cannot take a decision
in respect of the appointment on the said post. Under. these circumstances, it
was decided to place the matter for consideration of the Standing Committee
of the High Court of Gujarat, as to by which mode the post of the President, F
Industrial Court is to be filled up. Accordingly, the said matter was considered
by the Standing Committee of the High Court of Gujarat and it was decided
on 8.2.2000 that the post of President, Industrial Court, Ahmedabad, be filled
up by nomination under clause (b) of Rule 2 of the proposed Rules, as none
of the present Members of the Industrial Court is eligible to be appointed to G
the said post by promotion, having not completed five years' service on the
post of Member, Industrial Court. The claim of all the incumbents of the posi
of Member of the Industrial Court was examined in light of the criteria
prescribed by the High Court of Gujarat for appointment on the post of
President of the Industrial Court. It was decided by the Standing Committee
to fill up the post of President of the Industrial Court by nomination as stated H
818 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2003] 2 S.C.R.
A above. In the light of the decision of the Standing Committee to fill up the
post of the President of the Industrial Court by way of nomination, it was
further decided to ask for the willingness of the Judicial Officers working in
the cadres of City Civil Court Judges and District Judges, who are not less
than 45 years .of age and have put in ten years of service in judiciary including
the period of practice at the Bar for being considered for appointment in
B question. Pursuant to the said decision, the willingness was called for and in
all, nine judicial officers had expressed willingness for being considered for
the post in question, the details bf which have been furnished at page 92 of
the paper book. Thereafter, the said matter was placed for consideration of
the Standing Committee of the High Court of Gujarat and in the meeting of
C the Standing Committee held on 30.3.2000, it was decided to direct the
office to resubmit the matter along with the recruitment Rules prescribing
eligibility criteria for appointment to the post of President, Industrial Court.
Pursuant to the said decision, the matter was again considered in the light of
the existing Rule provision by the :iffice. As per the directions of the Standing
Committee, the matter was again placed before the Standing Committee for
D further consideration along with the Rule stated above. In the meeting of the
Standing Committee of the High Court held on 1.5.2000, the consideration
of the subject was deferred, however, in the meantime, the office was directed
to resubmit the matter, pointing out the provisions of law in the matter,
particularly mentioning the provisions regarding eligibility, experience and
E age of superannuation etc. prescribed for the post in question. Pursuant to the
said direction of the Standing Committee, a detailed note was submitted for
consideration of the Standing Committee and after considering all aspects, in
the meeting held on 29.6.2000, the Standing Committee had taken decision
to the effect that the name of Shri N.A. Acharya, Joint District Judge, Vadodara
may be recommended to the Labour and Employment Department,
F Government of Gujarat, for appointment as President of the Industrial Court,
Ahmedabad by nomination provided under the Recruitment Rules for the
post in question. Accordingly, the office had sent a communication to the
Government on 5.7.2000 recommending the name of Shri N.A. Acharya for
appointment on the post of President, Industrial Court, Ahmedabad. Soon
G after the recommendation was made by the High Court to the Government
as aforesaid, a representation was received by the High Court from Shri 8.1.
Kazi, the President, Gujarat Industrial Judges' Association, Ahmedabad in
connection with the filling up of the post of President, Industrial Court,
Ahmedabad. In this connection, Shri Kazi was called for personal hearing on
11.8.2000 and he was heard by the Chief Justice on the issue. Again, Shri
H Y.P. Bhatt, President (In-charge) of the Industrial Court vide his letter dated
HIGHCOURTO> GCJ.\RAT••. GUJARATKISHAN MAZDOORPANCHAYAT{AR. LAKSHMANAN,J.] 8 J9
4.11.2000 expressed his unwillingness to be promoted as the President of the A
Industrial Court.
On the basis of what is stated above, it is clear that the decision to fill
up the post of the President of the Industrial Court by way of nomination as
provided under the Rules, was arrived at, after considering all aspects, not
only that the process of selecting the person to be recommended to the B
Govemmeilt was also undertaken transparently and before taking the decision,
the matter was considered from time and again by the Standing Committee
of the High Court of Gujarat and after due consideration and deliberations,
the decision was taken to recommend the name of Shri N.A. Acharya.
Considering the totality of the facts, it is clear to us that there is neither C
illegality nor arbitrariness in taking the decision of recommending the name
of Shri N.A. Acharya for appointment on the post of President, Industrial
Court, Ahmedabad.
It is seen from the records that at the request of the Government, the
eligibility criteria for appointment on the post of President, Industrial Court D
ha!. been determined by the High Court and the same has been incorporated
in the Draft Recruitment Rules. We have already extracted Rules 2 & 3 of
the Draft Recruitment Rules. Shri N.A. Acharya is eligible for the post of the
President, Industrial Court, Ahmedabad as he has completed ten years' service
in judiciary including the period of practice at the Bar. The period of practice/
service of Shri N.A. Acharya is given below:- E
"Period of Practice/Service or Mr. N.A. Acharya:-
1.8.1978 to 30.11.1983 Worked as Civil Judge (JD)
Resigned on 30.11.1983 F
Period of Practice Enrolment No.G/296/1974
on 30.10.74
Practice: 30.10.1974 to 31.7.1978
1.12.1983 to 19.2.1992
G
From 20.2.1992 to 22.12.1999
-Addi. Public Prosecutor, City Civil
Court, Ahmedabad
From 23.12.1999 to 21.12.2000
H
820 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2003] 2 S.C.R.
A - Worked in the cadre of District
Judge at Vadodara.
From 22.12.2000
- As President, Industrial Court."
B
In our opinion, in the case of appointment of President of the Industrial
Court by nomination, it is not necessary that he must be appointed as Member
at the first instance. Section l 0(2) of the B.I.R. Act deals with the composition
C of Industrial Court, which does not lay down the mode of appointment. The
words of Section I 0(2) of the B.l.R. Act are not that the President shall be
appointed from one of the current Members of the Industrial Court. In our
view, the High Court has erroneously read these words in Section 10(2) of
the 8.1.R. Act. It is also seen that the proposed Recruitment Rules were
framed by the High Court at the request of the Government and pending
D approval of the Government. We are, therefore, of the opinion that the
appointment of Shri N.A. Acharya as President of the Industrial Court is not
in breach of Section I0(2) of the 8.1.R. Act and also not violative of Articles
14 and 16 of the Constitution of India. To be eligible for appointment by
nomination, the candidate must not be connected with any Industry as defined
E in the 8.1.R. Act and must (I) not be less than 45 years of age, and (2) have
for atleast ten years either held a judicial post in India or been an advocate
for High Court or have expert knowledge of Industrial matters. Based on the
recommendation of the High Court, on its administrative side, the Government
of Gujarat issued the Notification on 7.12.2000 whereby Shri N.A. Acharya
had been appointed as the President of the Industrial Court. Considering the
F totality of the facts, it is clear that by recommending the appointment in
question, the High Court of Gujarat had not only acted within its rights but
the same had been done in due discharge of the constitutional duty.
In our view, Section 10(2) of the 8.1.R. Act cannot be read to mean that
G the President of the Industrial Court must be appointed from amongst the
existing Members of the Industrial Court when the provision in fact is not in
such terms. The High Court has confused the concept of the President of the
Industrial Court being from among the Members of the said Court with the
erroneous concept that the said President must be from amongst the existing
members of that Court. A reading of the provisions of Section I0 of the
H 8.1. R. Act clearly spells out that, apart from the mode of selecting the President
HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT" GUJARATKISHAN MAZDOORPANCHA YAT(S.B. SINHA.I.] 821
.- by promotion amongst the Members, the President can also directly be A
appointed from the sitting or retired High Court Judges or from the Judges
of City Civil Court, Ahmedabad and District Judges, who fulfills the eligibility
requirement for appointment as Member of the Industrial Court. The High
Court, in our view, has failed to appreciate that the words of Section I 0(2)
of the B.l.R. Act are not "that the President shall be appointed from one of
the current Members o_f the Industrial Court". The narrow interpretation of B
Section 10(2) of the B.l.R. Act and the reasoning of the High Court, in our
view, completely rules out the appointment of President, Industrial Court
through the mode of nomination. In other words, the High Court failed to
appreciate that once a person is appointed as the President of the Industrial
Court, he automatically becomes a Member. Section I 0(2) of the 8.1.R. Act C
only envisages that the President is the senior Member of the Industrial Court
and that the appointment of President of the Industrial Court is inherent in his
appointment as. Member of the Industrial Court.
This Court, in the case of State of Maharashtra v. Labour Law
Practitioners' Association and Ors.; [ 1998] 2 SCC 688, held that the Labour D
Court Judges and the Judges of the Industrial Court belong to Judicial service
and recruitment is to be made in accordance with Article 234 of the
Constitution of India. The existing Recruitment Rules did not comply with
the provision of Article 234 of the Constitution of India. The State Government,
therefore, referred to the High Court for consultation and approval of the E
Rules. The administrative side of the High Court framed the Draft Rules and
the appointment offered to Shri N.A. Acharya was in accordance with the
Draft Rules. This apart, the eligibility criteria for appointment on the post of
the President of the Industrial Court has been determined by the High court
and the same has been incorporated in the Draft Recruitment Rules at the
request of the Government. F
For the foregoing reasons, we are of the opinion that no illegality is
committed by recommending the name of Shri N.A. Acharya as the President
of the Industrial Court, for appointment by nomination.
The appeals are allowed. However, in the facts and circumstances of G
the case, there shall be no order as to costs .
.S.B. SINHA, J. Although I agree with the conclusions arrived at by my
learned Brother, having regard to the importance of the question involved, I
would like to assign additional reasons therefor.
H
822 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003) 2 S.C.R.
A The High Court in exercise of its writ jurisdiction in a matter of this
nature is required to determine at the outset as to whether a case has been
made out for issuance of a writ of certiorari or a writ of quo warranto. The
jurisdiction of the High Court to issue a writ of quo warranto is a limited one.
While issuing such a writ, the court merely makes a public declaration but
will not consider the respective impact of the candidates or other factors
B which may be relevant for issuance of writ of certiorari. [See R. K. Jain v.
Union of India and Ors., reported in (1993] 4 SCC 119 para 74]
A writ of quo warranto can only be issued when the appointment is
contrary to statutory rules. [See Mor Modern Cooperative Transport Society
C Ltd. v, Financial Commissioner & Secretary to Govt. of Haryana and Anr.,
(20021 6 sec 269.
When questioned, Mr. R. Venkataramani, learned senior counsel on
behalf of the respondents fairly stated that in this case the High Court was
concerned with the question as to whether a writ of quo warranto can be
D issued or not. Thus, with a view to find out as to whether a case has been
made out for issuance of quo warranto, the only question which was required .
to be considered was as to whether Shri N.A. Acharya fulfilled the
qualifications laid down under sub-section (4) of Section 10 of the Bombay
Industrial Relations Act 1946 or not. The Full Bench of the High Court has
mainly proceeded on the basis that the Industrial Court was required to have
E three or more members, one of whom shall be President as specified in sub-
section (2) of Section I 0 and, thus, a person before he is appointed as the
President must necessarily be appointed as a Member. In my opinion, while
arriving at the said finding what the High Court has failed to take into
consideration was that sub-section (2) of Section I 0 did not impose any
restriction on the power of the State to appoint a Member or a President. The
F said provision merely speaks of the composition of the Court of Industrial
Arbitration. The expression 'shall consist of three or more Members' is
important. Sub-section (2) of Section I 0 provides for the composition of the
Tribunal and nothing else. By necessary implication a President of the Court
of Industrial Arbitration would also have to be a Member and precisely that
G was the reason why no separate qualification for the appointment of a President
has been laid down in the Act. Sub-section (4) of Section 10 of the Act lays
down the eligibility criteria of a Member only. It is, therefore, significant that
for the purpose of appointment of a Member as also the President of the
Court of Industrial Arbitration the eligibility criteria remain the same.
H The legitimate expectation of a Member to be promoted to the Post of
HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT" GUJARAT KISHAN MAZDOOR PANCHA YAT [S.B. SINHA, J.] 823
the Chairman as has been submitted by Mr. Venkataramani will, thus, have A
no relevance as nobody has a vested right to be promoted.
It may be true that reference has been made by the High Court while
making the recommendations to the draft rules known as Draft Recruitment
Rules but it appears from the records that the said draft rules, purported to
have been framed by the High Court for replacing the-Recruitment Rules for B
the Post of President as contained· at Item 34 in the Handbook of Guidelines
on Recruitment Rules of Officers under Labour and Employment Department,
Government of Gujarat, Gandhinagar, December, 1990, were published in
the year 1992.
It is now trite that draft rules which are made to lie in a nascent state
c
for a long time cannot be the basis for making appointment or recommendation.
Rules even in their draft stage can be acted upon provided there is a clear
intention on the part of the G<'vemment to enforce those rules in the near
future. (See Vimal Kumari v. Sta:e of Haryana and Ors., reported in [ 1998]
4 sec 114) D
Sub-section (4) of Section 10 of the Act states that a Member of the
Industrial Court shall be a person who is or has been a Judge of High Court
· or is eligible for being appointed a Judge of such Court. Article 217 of the
Constitution of India inter alia lays down the qualification to be possessed E
by a citizen for his appointment as a High Court Judge. It has not been and
could not be disputed that Shri N.A. Acharya has the requisite qualification.
The other and further qualifications for appointment of a member have been
laid down in the provisos appended thereto. The qualifications specified in
the said provisos are meant for those who do not satisfy the requirements of
main provision. First and Second provisos appended to sub-section (4) of F
Section I 0 are exceptions to the main provision. Once it is held that sitting
judicial officers can be appointed either as Member or President of the Court
of Industrial Arbitration, indisputably the High Court is required to be
consulted therefor. It is for the High Court and High Court alone to nominate
a person of its choice. Such a practice is followed by all.the High Courts of
the country and although the ultimate authority is the State, the G
recommendations made by the High Court is normally accepted.
A statute as is well-known must be interpreted having regard to the
purport and object which it seeks to achieve. The object of the Act is to
constitute Industrial Arbitration Court for the purpose of adjudication of the H
824 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2003] 2 S.C.R.
A disputes between the management and the workmen. Such courts which are
normally manned by the judicial officers cannot be kept vacant for a long
time. Whenever they are meant to be filled up by the sitting judicial officers,
consultation with the High Court is imperative.
Although we do not find any difficulty in interpreting the provisions,
B even if it be assumed that the provisions of Sub-section (2) and sub-section
(4) of Section 10 of the Act render two different meanings, it is trite, that in
such an event the rule of purposive construction should be taken recourse to.
In Jt. Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Kera/av. T.A. Kuttappan and
C Ors., [(2000) 6 SCC 127] while interpreting the provisions dealing with the
question as regard the duties and functions of Committee of Management of
the Society constituted under Kerala Cooperative Societies Act, 1969 this
Court observed:
"The duty of such a committee or an administrator is to set right the
default, if any, and to enable the society to carry on its functions as
D
enjoined by law. Thus, the role of an administrator or a committee
appointed by the Registrar while the Committee of Management is
under supersession, is, as pointed out by this Court, only to bring on
an even keel a ship which was in doldrums. If that is the objective
and is borne in mind, the interpretation of these provisions will not
E be difficult."
In Associated Timber Industries and Others v. Central Bank of India
and Anr., [2000] 7 SCC 93, while considering the provisions of the Bombay
Money Lenders Act vis-a-vis the provisions of other Acts upon a purposive
and meaningful interpretation held that the banks do not come under the
F purview of.the Assam Money Lenders Act.
In United Bank of India, Calcutta v. Abhijit Tea Co. Pvt. Ltd. and Ors.,
(2000] 7 SCC 357 this Court noticed: ·
"25. In regard to purposive interpretation, Justice Frankfurter observed
G as follows:
Legislation has an aim, it seeks to obviate some mischief, to
supply an inadequacy, to effect a change of policy, to formulate
a plan of government. That aim, that policy is not drawn, like
nitrogen, out of the air; it is evidenced in the language of the
H statute, as read in the light of other external manifestations of
I
)l
. HIGHCOURTOFGUJARAT" GUJARATKISHANMAZDOORPANCHAYAT [S.B. SINHA,J.] 825
purpose [Some Reflections on the Reading of Statutes, 4 7 A
Columbia LR 527, at p. 538 (1947)].
26. That principle has been applied to this very Act by this Court
recently in Allahabad Bank v. Canara Bank. If the said principle is
applied, it is clear that the provision in Section 31 must be construed
in such a manner that, after the Act, no suit by the Bank is decided B
by the civil court and all such suits are decided by the Tribunal."
In K. Duraisamy and Anr. v. State ofT.N. and Ors., (2001] 2 SCC538,
it was held:
"The mere use of the word 'reservation' per se does not have the C
consequence of ipso facto applying the entire mechanism underlying
the constitutional concept of a protective reservation specially designed
for the advancement of any socially-and-educationally-backward
classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes,
to enable them to enter and adequately represent in various fields.
The meaning, content and purport of the expression will necessarily D
depend upon the purpose and object with which it is used."
The Court while interpreting the provision of a statute, although, is not
entitled to re-write the statute itself, is not debarred from "ironing out the
creases". The court should always make an attempt to uphold the rules and
interpret the same in such a manner which would make it workable. E
It is also a well settled principles oflaw that an attempt should be made ...--
to give effect to each and every word employed in a statute and such ...----.----~:~ ..
interpretation ~hich would render a particular provision redundan~e:/ ... · ·
should be avoided. . ~" .. . . · p
In Reserve Bank of India v. Peerless Co. reported in (1987] l SCC 424,
this Court said:-
...
"Interpretation must depend on the tex't and the context. They are the
basis of interpretation. One may well say if the text is the texture, G
context is what gives the colour. Neither can be ignored. Both are
important. That interpretation is best which makes the textual
interpretation match the contextual. A statute is best interpreted when
we know why it was enacted. With this knowledge, the statute must
be read, first a whole and then section by section, clause by clause,
phrase by phrase and word by word. If a statute is looked at, in the H
826 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2003) 2 S.C.R.
A context of its enactment, with the glasses of the statute maker, provided
by such context, its scheme, the sections clauses, phrases and words
may take colour and appear different than when the statute is looked
at without the glasses provided by the context. With these glasses we
must look at the Act as a whole and discover what each section, each
clause, each phrase and each word is meant and designed to any as
B to fit into the scheme of the entire Act.. No part of a statute and no
word of a statute can be construed in isolation, Statutes have to be
construed so that every word has a place and everything is in its
place .."
C In "The Interpretation and Application of Statutes" by Reed Dickersen,
the author at page 135 has discussed the subject while dealing with the
importance of context of the statute in the following terms:-
" ........ The essence of the language is to reflect, express, and
perhaps even effect the conceptual matrix of established ideas and
D values that identifies the culture to which it belongs. For this reason,
language has been called 'conceptual map of human experience'."
The purport and object of the Statute is to see that a Tribunal become~
functional and as such the endeavours of the Court would be to see that to
achieve the same, an interpretation of Section I 0 of the Act be made in such
E a manner so that appointment of a President would be possible even at the
initial constitution thereof.
Such a construction is permissible by taking recourse to the doctrine of
strained construction, as has been succinctly dealt with by Francis Bennion
in his Statutory Interpretation. At Section 304, of the treatise; purposive
F construction has been described in the following manner:-
"A purposive construction of an enactment is one which gives effect
to the legislative purpose by -
(a) following the literal meaning of the enactment where that
G meaning is in accordance with the legislative purpose (in this Code
called a purposive-and-literal construction), or
(b) applying a strained meaning where the literal meaning is not
in accordance with the legislative purpose (in the Code called a
purposi ve-and-strajned construction).
H
•
HIGH COURT OF GUIAR.A T "·GUJARAT KISHAN MAZDOOR PANCHAYAT [S.B. SINHA, I] 82 7
In DPP v. Schildkamp, (1971) AC 1, it was held that severance may be A
effected even where the 'blue pencil' technique is impracticable.
In Jones v. Wrotham Park Settled Estates, (1980) AC 74 at page 105,
the law is stated in the following terms:-
"I am not reluctant to adopt a purposive construction where to B
apply the literal meaning of the legislative ianguage used would lead
to results which would clearly defeat the purposes of the Act. But in
doing so the task on which a court of justice is engaged remains one
of construction, even where this involves reading into the Act words
whi\:h are not expressly included in it. Kammins Ballrooms Co. Ltd
v. Zenith Investments (Torquay) Ltd., (1971 AC 850) provides an C
instance of this; but in that case the three conditions that must be
fulfilled in order to justify this course were satisfied. First, it was
possible to determine from a consideration of the provisions of the
Act read as a whole precisely what the mischief was that it was the
purpose of the Act to remedy; secondly, it was apparent that the D
draftsman and Parliament had by inadvertence overlooked, and so
omitted to deal with an eventuality that required to be dealt with if
the purpose of the Act was to be achieved; and thirdly, it was possible
to state with certainty what were the additional words that would
have been inserted by the draftsman and approved by Parliament had
their attention been drawn to the omission before the Bill passed into E
law. Unless this third condition is fulfilled any attempt by a court of
justice to repair the omission in the Act cannot be justified as an
exercise of its jurisdiction to determine what is the meaning of a
written law which Parliament has passed."
In Principles of Statutory Interpretation of Justice G.P. Singh, 5th Edition, F
1992, it is stated:
"The Supreme Court in Bangalore Water Supply v. A. Rajappa, AIR
(I 978) SC 548 approved the rule of construction stated by DENNING,
L.J. while dealing with the definition of 'Industry' in the Industrial G
Disputes Act, 1947. The definition is so general and ambiguous that
BEG, C.J. said that the situation called for "some judicial heroics to
cope with the difficulties raised''. K. IYER, J., who delivered the
leading majority judgment in that case referred with approbation the
passage extracted above from the judgment of DENNING, L.J. in
Seaford Court Estates ltd v. Asher. But in the same continuation he H
828 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] 2 S.C.R.
A also cited a passage from the speech of LORD SIMONDS in the case
of Magar & St. Mel/ans R.D.C. v. Newport Corporation, 1951 (2) All
ER 839 as if it also found a part of the judgment of DENNING, L.J.
This passage reads: "The duty of the court is to interpret the words
that the legislature has used. Those words may be ambiguous, but,
even if they are, the power and duty of the Court to travel outside
B them on a voyage of discovery are strictly limited." As earlier noticed
LORD SIMONDS and other Law Lords in Magar and St. Mellon's
case were highly critical of the views of DENNING, L.J. However,
as submitted above, the criticism is more because of the unconventional
manner in which the rule of construction was stated by him. In. this
C connection it is pertinent to remember that although a court cannot
supply a real casus omissus it is equally clear that it should not so
interpret a statute as to create a casus omissus when there is really
none."
In Hameedia Hardware Stores v. B. Mohan Lal Sowcar reported in
D [1988] 2 sec 513 at 524 the rule of addition of word had been held to be
permissible in the following words:-
"We are of the view that having regard to the pattern in which clause
(a) of sub-section (3) of Section I 0 of the Act is enacted and also the
. c~t_e.xt, the-W"9rds 'if the landlord required it for his own use or for
___ . E;;:.-:-:=-- ··ihe use ·or any member of his family' which are found in sub-clause
(ii) of Section 10(3)(a) of the Act have to be read also into sub-clause
(iii) of Section 10(3)(a) of the Act. Sub-clauses (ii) and (iii) both deal
with the non-residential buildings. They could have been enacted as
one sub-clauses by adding a conjunction 'and' between the said two
sub-clauses, in which event the clause would have read thus : 'in case
F
it is a non-residential building which is used for the purpose of keeping
a vehicle or adapted for such use if the landlord required it for his
own use or for the use of any member of his family and if he or any
member of his family is not occupying any such building in the city,
town or village concerned which is his own; and in case it is any
G other non-residential building, if the landlord or member of his family
is carrying on, a non-residential building in the city, town or village
concerned which is his own'. If the two sub-clauses are not so read,
it would lead to an absurd result.
In Punjab Land Development and Reclamation Corporation Ltd.,
H Chandigarh v. Presiding Officer, Labour Court, Chandigarh and Ors., reported
HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT 1·. GUJARAT Kl SHAN MAZDOOR PANCHA YAT [S.S. SINHA, J.} 829
in [1990) 3 SCC 682, this Court held: A
"The court has to interpret a statute and apply it to the facts. Hans
Kelsen in his Pure Theory of Law. (p. 355) makes a distinction between
interpretation by the science of law or jurisprudence on the one hand
and interpretation by a law-applying organ (especially the court) on
the other. According to him "jurisprudential interpretation is purely B
cognitive ascertainment of the meaning of legal norms. In
contradistinction to the interpretation by legal organs, jurisprudential
interpretation does not create law". "The purely cognitive interpretation
by jurisprudence is therefore unable to fill alleged gaps in the law.
The filling of a so-called gap in the law is a law-creating function C
that can only be performed by a law-applying organ; and the function
of creating Jaw is not performed by jurisprudence interpreting law.
Jurisprudential interpretation can do no more than exhibit all possible
meanings of a legal norm. Jurisprudence as cognition of law cannot
decide between the possibilities exhibited by it, but must leave the
decision to the legal organ who, according to the legal order, is D
authorised to apply the law". According to the author if law is to be
applied by a legal organ, he must determine the meaning of the norms
to be applied : he must 'interpret' those norms (p. 348). Interpretation
therefore is an intellectual activity which accompanies the process of
law application in its advance from a higher level to a lower level. E
According to him, the law to be applied is a frame. "There are cases
of intended or unintended indefiniteness at the lower level and several
possibilities are open to the application of law." The traditional theory
believes that the statut~, applied to a concrete case, can always supply
only one correct decision and that the positive-legal 'correctness' of
this dec.ision is based on the statute itself. This iheory describes the F
interpretive procedure as if it consisted merely in an intellectual act
of clarifying or understanding; as if the law-applying organ had to
use only his reason but not his will, and as if by a purely intellectual
activity, among the various existing possibilities only one correct
choice could be made in accordance with positive law. According to
the author : "The legal act applying a legal norm may be performed G
in such a way that it conforms (a) with the one or the other of the
different meanings of the legal norm, (b) with the will of the norm-
creating authority that is to be determined somehow, (c) with the
expression which the norm-creating authority has chosen, (d) with
the one or the other of the contradictory norms; or (e) the concrete H
830 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] 2 S.C.R.
A case to which the two contradictory norms refer may be decided
under the assumption that the two contradictory norms annul each
other. In all these cases, the law to be applied constitutes only a
frame within which several applications are possible, whereby every
act is legal that stays within the frame."
B In S. Gopal Reddy v. State of Andhra Pradesh reported in (1996) 4
SCC 596 this Court observed :
"It is a well-known rule of interpretation of statutes that the text and
the context of the entire Act must be looked into while interpreting
any of the expressions used in a statute. The courts must look to the
C object which the statute seeks to achieve while interpreting any of the
provisions of the Act. A purposive approach for interpreting the Act
is necessary."
In Public Services Tribunal Bar Association v. State of UP. and Anr.,
(2003] AIR SCW 653 this Court noticed Section 3 of U.P. Public Services
D (Tribunal) Act which provided for different qualifications for Chairman, Vice-
Chairman (Judicial) and Vice-Chairman (Administration) as also Judicial and
Administrative Members of the Service Tribunal. A Bench of this Court of
which one of us (Hon 'ble the Chief Justice of India) was a member held that
as appointment of Chairman, Vice Chairman (Judicial), Vice-
E Chairman(Administration) and Members are to be made in consultation with
the Chief Justice of the High Court, the Act is intra vires.
The said decision is also a pointer to show that whenever a post is to
be filled up by the Judicial Member who is eligible to be appointed as a High
Court Judge, consultation with the High Court is imperative.
F
Furthermore, if the interpretation of Section I 0 of the Act as propounded
by the High Court is accepted, no President .can be appointed directly by the
State at the time of Constitution of the Court. Such a situation, therefore,
would lead to absurdity if it is held that the candidate must first be appointed
as a Member and the Post of President can be filled up inter alia by way of
G promotion or otherwise. When literal interpretation of a provision leads to
absurdity or manifest injustice, it is trite, the same must be avoided.
Furthermore, if the legislature intended to lay down different
qualifications or eligibility criteria for the President and the Members, it
... H would have expressly stated so. We may in this connection notice the
HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT'· GUJARAT KISHAN MAZDOOR PANCHAYAT [S B SINHA,!.] 831
provisions of the Consumer Protection Act. A
In absence of an express provision providing either for different
qualification or eligibility criteria or the selection process, the same procedure
for appointment must be followed.
Both under the existing rules as also the Draft Rules mode and manner B
of appointment have been laid down. Even in absence of the Draft Rules in
terms of Rule 34 of the Recruitment Rules for the President of Industrial
Court appo.intment can be made by nomination. Thus, appointment to the
Post of President could be made by way of nomination also subject to the
nominees holding requisite qualifications laid down therefor.
c
It is further trite that non-mentioning or wrong mentioning of a provision
of law would not invalidate an order if a source therefor can be found out
either under general law or a statute law.
It is further well-settled that when there are two sources of power, even
if one is not applicable, the order will not become invalid if the power of the D
statutory authority can be traced to another source.
For the reasons aforementioned, taking any view of the matter it cannot
be said that the appointment of Shri N.A. Acharya was illegal or invalid. The
impugned judgment, therefore, cannot be sustained which is, therefore, set E
aside. The appeal is allowed.
K.K.T. Appeals allowed.
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