MANAGEMENT SHAHDARA (DEL,HI) SAHARANPUR LIGHT RAILWAY CO., LTD. v. S.S. RAILWAY WORKERS UNION
Citation: [1969] 2 S.C.R. 131; 1968 INSC 243
Court: Supreme Court of India
Bench: J.M. SHELAT , VISHISHTHA BHARGAVA, C.A. VAIDYIALINGAM
Judgment date:
Case summary
1968 INSC 243. Supreme Court of India judgment dated 1968-09-18. MANAGEMENT SHAHDARA (DEL,HI) SAHARANPUR LIGHT RAILWAY CO., LTD. v. S.S. RAILWAY WORKERS...
Judgment text
132 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1969] 2 S. C. R. MANAGEMENT SHAHDARA (DEl,HI) SAHARANPUR LIGHT RAILWAY CO. , LTD. v. S. S. RAILWAY WORKERS' UNION September 18, 1968 [J, M. SHELAT, V. BHARGAVA AND C. A. VAIDIALINGAM, JJ. ] ; Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act (20 of 1946), as amended by Act 36 of 1956, ss. 6 and 10(2)-Modification of existing Standing Orders-When permitted. Six months after the appellant's Standing Orders as modified had come into operation, the respondent applied for further modification of the Standing Orders, under s. 10(2) of the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946, as amended in 1956. The certifying officer allowed some of the modifications and on appeal by the respondent, the Appellate Authority allowed some more modifications. In appeal, to this Court under Art.
136 of the Constitution, the appellant objected to four modifications, namely : (i) that the appellant should give reasons and communicate them to the workmen even in cases of discharge simpliciter; (ii) that appeals against penalties imposed should be disposed of within 60 days; (iii) that when a workman is removed on the ground of inefficiency due to physical unfitness, the appellant should offer to such workman alternative employment on reasonable emoluments; and (iv) that a second show cause notice should be served on the workman at the. stage of taking a decision on the suitable punishment. The gtounds urged were : (I) The authorities under the Act can certify modifications of existing Standing Orders under s. 10(2) only when a change of circumstauces is established, because, s. 6 of the Act confers finality on certified Standing Orders or modifications thereof; (2).
On principles analogous to res judicnta, the authorities had no jurisdiction to grant the modifications in the present case; and (3) the modifications were not reasonable or fair. HELD: (I) [Per Shela! and Vaidialingam, JJ. ]: A change of circumstances is not a condition precedent to the maintainability of an application for ·modification under s. 10(2). Under the Act before its 'amendment in 1956, a workman could not object that the Standing Orders were not reasonable or fair. His only remedy was to raise an industrial dispute, but that remedy was unsatis-factory, since the dispute had to be sponsored by a union or at least a substantial number of \VOrkmen and even then, the process was a protracted one. Parliament knew that the workmen had the right to raise an industrial dispute and also the defects in that remedy and so amended ss. 4 and 10 of the Act by Act 36 of 1956.
The amendment conferred on individual workman the right to object to draft Standing Orders submitted by an employer on the ground that they are either not fair or not reasonable, and also gave the right to apply for their modification. Under s. 6, a pe. rson a,~grieved by the order of the certifying officer certifying or modifying Standing Orders. may appeal to the Appellate AuthOrity whose decision shall be final. But the finality only means that there is no further appeal or revision against the order and that the order cannot be challenged in a civil court. It can, ho. wever. be modi· ' tied under s. 10(2). The only limitations on the power are, (a) reason: ableness and fairness of the modification, and (b) except on agreement beh. veen employer and the workmen six months must have elapsed from the date on which the StandinA Orders or the last modific:. i. tions thereof. came into operation.
the object being that Standing Orders or the modific~tions should he allO\Vcd to work for some time to see if they are satisfactory. In an application for modification the issue before the authority would be not as ta reasonableness or fairness of the existing Standing Orders. hut \\'hethcr the modification applied for is fair and reasonable. Such an application is am independent application and merely because it could be made on the ground that the existing Standing Orders are discovered to be 1p1satisfactory even \Vithout any change in circumstances, it would not amount to a review of an earlier order. Further, there will not be a 1nultiplicity of applications because the workmen in. dividually have the right to apply for modifications. For, unless there is some justification for the modification, the authdrities under the Act would reject the applications. [139 G-H; 140 C-D; 141 A-C; 142 A- C; G-H; 143 A-CJ Bangalore Woollen Cotton & Silk Co. Ltd. v. The Workmen [1968] I L. L. J.
555, Buckingham and Carnatic Co. Ltd. v. Workmen C. A. No. 674 of 1968 dt. 25th Julv J 968 and Hindustan Brown Boveri Ltd. v. The Workmen C. A. No. (631 of 1966 dt. 31st July 1967, referred to. [Per Bhargava. J. dis,'fnting] : When an application under s. 10(2) is made. th~ certifying officer can modify Standing Orders already certified. only if the request is not made on the basis of the same material which existed at the earlier stage when they were certified. [155 G-H] Before the amendment ;n 1956 if the workmen had any grievance on the ground of unfairness or unreasonableness of the Standing Orders, their only remedy lay under the Industrial Disputes . Act. By amendment in 1 1956, a limited remedy was provided for them in the Act itself by cen-ferring on the certifying officer the po\ver of judging the reasonableness and fairness of the Standing Orders and of modifying them under s. 10(2).
Therefore, after 1956 the workmen have two alternative remedies for seeking alteration in the Standing Orders proposed or certified. Under s. 10(2) a request for modification can only be made on the basis of fresh facts or fresh circumstnnces arising subsequent to the passing of the order by the Appellate Authority under s. 6 on the limited ground· of reasonahleness and fairness. The Industrial Tribunal, however, can direct the alteration of a Standing Order held to be reasonable and fair, without any fresh grounds, rnatefial, or change in circumstances if an industrial dispute1 in relation ro it is raised, and this is the only remedy available if a modification is desired without a change of circumstances. If it is held that even the rertifyin~ officer can reconsider the reasonableness or fairness of a Standing Order already certified and confirmed under s. 6 the finality envisaged by the section would be nullified. After period of six months had elapsed.
the certifying officer could set aside an order pa·ssed earlier hy his superior. or a succeeding Appellate Authority may interfere \. \rith his predecessor's order, merely because the certifying officer or Appellate Authority considers the modification to be reasonable and fair even thou£? h there \Vas no change in the circumstances. [153 F-G; 154 A-B, D-F; 155 C-F; 156 A-Cl (2) [Per Shela! and Vaidialingam, JJ. ]: It is doubtful whether principles analogous to res judicata can properly be applied to industrial adjudication. [! 43 HJ Burn & Co. v. Their Emplo}ees, [1956] S. C. R. 781, Guest, Keen, William• (P) Ltd. v. Sterling, [1960) I S. C. R. 348 and Workmen! o/, Balmer Lawrie & Co, v, Balmer Lawrie & Co. [1964] 5 S. C. R, 344, · referred to, s. s. RLY. co. v. WORKERS' UNION (Shelat, J. ) ! 33 A [Per Bhargava, J. ] : This Court has expressed conflicting views on the question of applying the principle underlying the rule of res judicata to industrial adjudication. [150 El Burn & Co.
's case, [1956] S. C. R. 781, Baitner Lawrie Co. 's case, [1964] 5 S. C. R. 344 and Associated Cement Staff Union v. A. ssociateol Cement Co. [1964] 1 L. L. J. 12, referrecl to. (3) [Per Shelat and Vaidialingam, JJ. ]: So far as modifications (ii) B and (iii) are concerned, in an appeal under Art. 136, this Court would not interfere with the conclusion of the authorities under the Act since no principle is involved. [I 44 F] As regards modification ( i), the authorities under the Act held that it was fair and reasonable, and there is no justification for this Court to interfere with the decision. In Jndustrial matters, at present, the doctrine of hire and fire is completely abrogated, because, security of employ-c ment is one of the necessities for industrial peace and harmony. If reasons for discharging an employee are furnished t0 him he not only has the satisfaction of knowing why his services are dispensed with, but in_ appropriate cases he can challenge it, as even.
when the services- of an employee are te'rn1inated by an order of discharge sin1pliciter, its legality and propriety can be challenged before an industrial tribunal. f145 A-El . - 0 As regards modification (iv) ! he requirement of a second show cause notice is peculiar to cases coming under Art. 311 of the Constitution and neither the ordinary la\v nor the industrial Ia\v requires an employer to give such a notice. Even in Art. 311, the requirement is now removed and so, it is not necessary to import it into industrial matters. [145 E-F] [Per Bhargava J. dissenting] : The orde'r . must be set aside because the four modifications were not based on any fresh facts, material or E change of circumstances. Jn fact, n1odification (i) was : specifically disallowed by the Appellate Authority at an earlier stage and merely because his successor considered it reasonable and fair it was permitted • \Vithout any change in the circumstances.
[156 E-F, HJ CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 27 of 1968. F Appeal by special leave from the order dated October 27, 1967 of the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) and Appellate Authority, New Delhi in No. I. E .. 1 (11) /7 /66-LSI. H. R. Gokha/e, B. Parthasarathy, 0. C. Mathur, J. B. Dada- ! chanji and Ravinder Narain, for the appellant. G R. K. Garg, S. C. Agarwala and. Ani/ Kumar Gupta, for the respondent. The Ji\dgment of J. M. SHELAT and c. A. VAIDIALINGAM, JJ. , was delivered by SHELAT, J. BHARGAVA, J. delivered a dissenting Opinion. Shelat, J. This appeal, by special leave, is by the employer H and raises the question as to the scope of sec. 10(2) of the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 20 of 1946, as amended by Act 36 of 1956 (referred to hereinafter as the Act). The Standing Orders of the Appellant-company were certified on August 7, 1962 by the Regional Labour Commissioner, Central, under s. 4 of the Act.
Both the company and the workmen filed appeals against the said order which were disposed of by the Appellate authority under s. 6. Sometime thereafter the respondent-union applied for certain modifications, some of which were certified by the Regional Labour Commissioner by his order dated December 28, 1963. The Appellant-company filed an appeal against the said order which was disposed of by the Chief Labour Commissioner in April 1964. On April 25, 1965 the respondent-union made a further application for modifications. The Regional Labour Commissioner by his order dated September 2, 1965 allowed certain modifications but rejected the rest. The union thereupon appealed against the said order. After hearing the parties the Chief Labour Commissioner passed his impugned . order dated October 27, 1967 ordering certification of certain modifications. Though the Appellant-company objected at first to all the modifications, counsel pressed the appeal in respect of. four modifications only.
The first modification challenged is in Standing Order 9, clause (a) which, as unamended, read as follows: "The railway under the terms of employment has the right to terminate the services of a permanent workman on giving him one month's notice in writing or one month's pay may be paid in lieu of notice. " The union claimed that the management should give reasons even when they terminated the services of an employee by a discharge simpliciter. The modification allowed directed reasons to be • recorded in writing and communicated to the workman if he so desires at the time of discharge but not if the management considers it inadvisable. The second modification is in Standing Order 12, clause (A), which, in its unamended form, read as follows: "When any of the penalties specified in Order 9 is imposed upon a workman an appeal shall lie to the authority next above that imposing the penalty. An appeal shall lie to the Managing Agents only on original •.
orders passed by the General Manager . . . . . " The union's plea was that some time limit was necessary for the disposal of the appeals as the managing agents who are the appel-late authority against the orders of the General Manager took months to dispose of such appeals thereby delaying the workman from raisi! lg an industrial dispute in time and seek timely relief. The modification allowed was that every such appeal shall be disposed of by the appellate authority within 60 days from the date of its receipt. The third modification is in Standing Order 11 (vii) which read as follows : S, s. RLY. co. v. WORKERS' UNION (Shelat, J. ) 135 A "Removal from service: A workman shall be liable to be removed from service in the following circumstances : (a) Inefficiency.
,, B • The modification allowed was as follows : "In case of inefficiency due to physical unfitness the workman whom the management considers suitable for · some alternative employment shall be offered the same on reasonable emoluments having re:gard to his former c emoluments. " The modification contains, it will be noticed, four limitations : ( 1) it applies only to cases of removal on the ground of physical unfitness, ( 2) the consideration of suitability for an alternate employment is left to the management, ( 3) the existence of alternative post, and ( 4) the question as to what reasonable emoluments 0 should be is left to the management. The fourth modification is in Standing Order 11 (vii)( c) which, in its unamended form, was as follows: "Every person against whom departmental enquiry is being made shall be supplied with a copy of the findings E in connection with his dismissal and removal, from service.
The workman shall also be supplied with a copy • of the proceedings of the enquiry committee as soon as . J possible after the conclusion of the enquiry proceedings in his case and be allowed to defend his case through union's representative. " F The modification allowed was as follows : "In case the management propose to remove the workman from service they shall serve on the workmen separate show cause notice to that effect. " ! Counsel for the company challenged the impugned order in G its two facets: the scope of the power of modification under s. 10(2), and on merits on the ground that the modifications did not stand the test of reasonableness and fairness. On the first • question his contention was that the jurisdiction and powers of the authorities under the Act to certify modifications of the existing standing orders are limited to cases where a change of circums- H tances is established.
In the course of his argument, counsel, however, qualified the contention by conceding that if at the time of the last certification certain circumstances were, for one reason or the other, omitted from consideration they would constitute a valid reason for modification and the modification would be granted even though in such a case a change of circumstances has not occurred. He next contended that in any case though s. 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure did not apply, principles analogous to res judicata would apply to an application for modification unless such application is occasioned by new circumstances having arisen or is based on new facts. Briefly, the argument was that • the object of the Act is to have conditions of service of workmen in an establishment defined with precision, and therefore, to have standing orders dealing with such conditions certified.
For industrial harmony and peace it is necessary that those conditions are stable and do not remain undefined or fluctuating. In pur-suance of this object the Act confers finality to such certified standing orders or modifications thereof under s. 6. The contention was that if modifications were allowed without any restraint, there would be multiple applications specially as individual workman have been given the right to apply for modifications. Therefore, the word 'final' in s. 6, it was argued, must be so read as to mean that an application for modification under s. 10(2) can only be maintainable if it is justified on the ground of a change of circumstances having occurred after the last certification, which of course, according \o the concession made by counsel, also would include cases where certain circumstances were not taken into account at the time of the last certification. The relevant provisions of the Act requiring consideration in this appeal are ss. 4, 6, 10, 11 and 12.
Section 4 provides that standing orders shall be certified under the Act if (a) a provision • is made therein for every matter set out in the Schedule, and (b) they are otherwise in conf01mity with the provisions of the Act. The section further provides that it shall be the function of the certifying officer or the appellate authority to adjudicate upon the fairness or reasonableness of the provisions of the standing orders. Section 6 provides that any person aggrieved by the order of the certifying officer passed under s. 5 ( 2) may appeal to the appellate authority and the appellate authority. "whose decision shall b~ final", shall by an order confirm the standing orders in the form certified under s. 5 (2) or amend or add thereto to render them certifiable under the Act. Section 10, whose interpretation is in question, provides by sub-s. 1 as follows : "Standing orders finally certified under this Act shall not.
except on agreement between the employer and the workmen, be liable to modification until the expiry of 6 months from the date on which the standing orders or the last modifications thereof came into operation. " 'S. s. Rt-Y. co. v; WORKERS' UNION (She/at, J. ) 137 Sub-s. 2 runs as follows : "Subject to the provisions of sub-section ( 1), an employer or workman may apply to the certifying officer to have the standing orders modified . Sub-s. 3 provides that the foregoing provisions of the Act shall apply in respect of an application for modification as they apply to the certification of the first standing orders. Section 11 empowers the certifying officer and the appellate authority to correct clerical or arithmetical mistakes in an order passed by them or errors arising from any accidental slip or omission. Lastly, s.
12 provides that no oral evidence having the effect of adding to or otherwise varying or contradicting standing orders as finally certified ' -under the Act shall be admitted in any court. Counsel conceded, and did so rightly, that there is no express provision in any one of these sections restricting the right to apply for modification or the power of the authorities to allow modification only on proof of a change of circumstances. The only limitations to the power are the reasonableness or fairness which of course must be established and the expiry of six months after the date of the standing orders or their last modifications coming into operation. In the absence of any such express restriction we should then ask ourselves whether there is in any of these sections anything which would indicate such a restriction by necessary implication. In that connection the only word which can point to such a restriction, according to counsel, is the· word 'final' in sec.
6, so that the contention reduces itself to this that by making • the order of the appellate authority final under sec. 6, Parliament ... __ > intended by necessary implication that the bar of finality can only be removed if new circumst3jl]Ces arise which necessitate or justify modification. But the intention of the legislature, as observed by Lord 1 Watson in Salomon v. A. Salomon & Co. Ltd. ( ) "is a common but very slippery phrase, which popularly understood, may signify anything from intention embodied in positive enactment to specu-lative opinion as to what the legislature probably would have meant, although there has been an omission to enact".
It is well settled that the meaning which words ought to be understood to bear is not to be ascertained by any process akin to speculation and the primary duty of a court is to find the natural meaning of the words used in the context in which they occur, that context including any other phrase ]Ii the Act which may throw light on the sense in which the makers of the Act used the words in dispute. In R. v. Wimbledon Justices(') Lord Goddard said : "Although in construing an Act of Parliament the court must always try to give ell'ect to the intention of the Act and must look (I) [1897] A. C. 22, 38. (2) [19~3]1 Q;B. 380. 2 Sup. C. H/69-W . j 38 SUPRllMB coua-r REPORTS (1969] 2 S. C. R. not only at the remedy provided but also at the mischief aimed at, it cannot add worcls to a statute or read words into it which are not there . . . . " Similarly, in R. v.
Mansel Jones(') Lord Coleridge said that it was tne business CJ{ the courts to see what Parliauient had said, instead of reading into an Act what 1. J11ght to have been said. So too, in Latham v. Lafone("), Martin B. said : "I think the proper rule for construing this statute is to adhere to its words strictly; and it is my strong belief that, by reasoning on long-drawn inferences and remote consequences, the courts have pronounced many judgments affecting debts and actions iin a manner that the persons who originated and prepared the Act never dreamed of. " In the light of these principles we ought, therefore, to give a literal meaning to the language used by Parliament unless the language is ambiguous or its literal sense gives rise to an anomaly or results in something which would defeat the purpose of the Act.
The Act was passed because the legislature thought that in many industrial establishments the conditions of service were not uniforni and sometimes were not even reduced to writing. This led to conflicts resulting in unnecessary industrial disputes. The object of passing the Act was thus to require employers to define with certainty the conditions of service in their establishments and to· require them to reduce them to writing and to get them com-pulsorily certified. The matters in respect of which the conditions of employment. had to he certified were specified in the schedule to the Act. As the Act stood prior to its amendment in 1956, sec. 3 required the employer to submit to the certifying officer draft standing orders proposed by him for adoption in his estab- • lishment.
Section 4 provided that standing orders shall be certifiable if (a) provision is made therein for every matter set out in the Schedule, and (b) that they were otherwise in conformity with the provisions of the Act. The section, however, expressly provided that it shall not be the £unction of the certifying officer or the appellate authority to adjudicate upon the fairness or reasonableness of the standing orders. Under s. 5, the certifying officer was required to send a copy of the draft standing orders to the union, if any, or in its absence to the workmen in the manner prescribed together with a notice calling for objections by them, if any, and to give opportunity to the employer and the workmen of being heard i!! '. d then to decide whether or not any modification of or addition to the draft standing orders was necessary to render them certifiable under the Act. Section 6 provided for an appeal by any person aggrieved by the order passed under s. 5.
The appellate authority, whose decision. was made final, had the power to confirm or lililend or add to the standing orders passed by the certifying offi~er. t. o render thenr certifiable lJillder· the Act. · T}J. ough the (I) {18891 23 Q. :B. D. 29, 32. (2) [18671 L. R. 2 Ex. 115, 121. s. s. RLY. co. v. WORKERS' UNION (Shelat, J. ) 1-. ~9 ' A order passed by the appellate authority was made final under s. 6, sec. 10 provided for modification. Sub-s. 1 of s. 10. provided that standing orders finally certified under this Act shall not, except on agreement between the employer and the workmen, be liable to modification until expiry of six months from the date on which they or the last modification thereof came into operation. Sub-s. B 2 read as follows : "An employer desiring to modify his standing orders shall apply to the Certifying Officer in that behalf .. ( , • ! t Sub-s. 3 provided that the foregoing provisions of the Act shall apply in respect of an application under sub-sec.
2 as they apply c to the certification of the first standing orders. As the Act stood prior to 1956, there was thus a prohibition against the certifying officer going into the question of reasonableness or fairness of the draft standing orders submitted to him by the employer. His only function was to see that the draft made provisions for all matters contained in the Schedule and that it D was otherwise certifiable under the Act. Therefore, though the workmen through the union or otherwise were served with the copy of the draft and had the right to raise :objections, the objections could be of a limited character, namely, that the draft did - not provide for all matters in the Schedule or that it was not otherwise certifiable under the Act. Even in an appeal under s. 6, the E only objections they could raise were limited to the two aforesaid questions. The workmen thus could not object that the draft standing orders were not reasonable or fair. Under s.
10, the ;ight to apply for modification was conferred on the employer alone and in view of sub-s. 3 the only consideration which the certifying authority could apply to such modification was the one which he could apply under ss. 4 and 6. Therefore, no question whether the F modification was fair or reasonable could be raised. It is thus dear that the workman had very little say in the matter even if he felt that the standing orders or their modifications were either not reasonable or fair. They could, of course, raise an industrial dis-l pute. But that remedy was hardly satisfactory. Such a dispute had to be first sponsored by a union or at least a substantial num- G ber of workmen; it had next to go through the process of concilia-tion and lastly the appropriate Government may or may not be prepared to refer such a dispute to industrial adjudication. Even if it did, the entire process was a protracted one.
In 1956, Parliament effected radical changes in the Act widening its scope and altering its very complexion. Section 4, as H amended by Act 36 of 1956, entrusted the authorities under the Act with the duty to adjudicate upqn fairpess and reasonableness of the standing orders; · The enquiry when such standing· orders I 140 SUPR~ME coUR:r REPORTS - _(1969] 2 S. C. R. A are submitted for certification is now two-fold: ( 1) whether the standing orders are in consonance with the_ model standing orders, and ( 2) whether they are fair and reasonable. . The workmen, therefore, can raise an objection as to the reasonableness or fairness of the draft standing orders submitted for certification. By amending s. 10(2) both the workmen and the employer are given the_ right to apply for modification and by reason of the change B made in s. 4 a modification has also now to be tested by the yard-stick of fairness and reasonableness. The Act provides a speedy ·~ a.
rid cheap remedy available to the individual workman to have his conditions of service determined and also for their modifications. By amending ss. 4 and 10, Parliament not only broadened the ,_ scope of the Act but also gave a clear expression to the change in c its legislative policy. Parliament knew that the workmen, even as the unamended Act stood, had the right to raise an industrial dispute, yet, not satisfied with such a remedy, it conferred by amending _ss. 4 and 10 the right to individual workmen to contest the draft standing orders submitted by the employer for certification on the ground that they are either not fair or reasonable, and more important still, the right to apply for their modification des- D 1pite the finality of the order of the appellate authority under s. 6. Parliament thus deliberately gave a dual remedy to the workmen both under this Act and under the Industrial Disputes Act. This fact has in recent decisions been recognised by this Court. (cf.
Bangalore Woollen, Cotton & Silk Co. Ltd. v. Their Workmen('), 2 Buckingham & Carnatic Co. Ltd. v. Workmen( ) and Hindustan E 3 - Brown Boveri Ltd. v. The Workmen( ). It will be pertinent, while examining the question whether there is a restriction, as suggested by counsel, to the right to apply for modifications, to bear in mind the change in the legislative · policy reflected in the an1endments of ss. 4 and 10. It will be noticed that s. 10 does not state that _once a standing order is ·F modiiied and the modification is certified, no further modification is permissible except upon proof that new circumstances have arisen since' the last modification. As a matter of fact the legislature has not incorporated any words in the sub-sec. restricting · the right to apply for modification except of course the time limit of six months in sub-s. · 1. Section 6 no doubt Jays down that the G order of the appellate authority in an appeal against the order of the certifying officer under s.
5 is final hut that finality is itself subject to the right to apply for modification under s. 10 (2). Even so, it was urged that the finality of the order under s. 6 was indicative of a condition precedent to the jurisdiction under sec. 10(2) to entertain an application for modification on a new set H (! ) (1968] I LLJ. 555. (2) C. A. No. 674of1968 decided on 25th July, 1968. -. «3J:· . C:A. No. 1631of1966 decided on. 31st July, 1967. S. S. RLY. CO. v. WORJ(! lRS' UNION (She/at, J. ) 141 of circumstances having' arisen in the meantime. 'Tiie question is whether such is the position. The finality to the order passed under s. 6 really means that there is no further appeal or revision against that order and no more. This view finds support from s. 12 which lays down that once the standing orders are finally certified, no oral evidence can be led in any court which has the effect of adding to or otherwise varying or contradicting such standing orders. Section 6, when read with s.
12, indicates that the finality given to the certification by the appellate authority is against a challenge thereof in a civil court. But the finality given to the appellate authority's order is subject to the modification of those very standing orders certified c by him. As already stated, s. I 0 itself does not lay down any restriction to the right to apply for modification. Apart from the right to apply for modification under the Act, the workmen can raise an industrial dispute with regard to the standing orders. There is nothing in the Industrial Disputes Act restricting the right to raise such a dispute only when a new set of circumstances has arisen. If that right is unrestricted, can it be possible that the very legislature which passed both the Acts could have, while conferring the right on the workmen individually, restricted that right as suggested by counsel ? To illustrate, a new industrial establishment is set up and workmen are engaged therein.
Either there is no union or if there is one it is not yet properly organised. The standing orders of the establishment are certified under the E Act. At the time of certification, the union or the workmen's representatives had raised either no objections or only certain ,,_ __ J; objections. If subsequently the workmen feel that further objections could have been raised and if so raised the authority under the Act would have taken them into consideration, does it mean that because new circumstances have since then not arisen, the F workmen, would be barred from applying for modification ? Let us take another illustration. Where, after the standing orders or their modifications are certified, it strikes a workman after they have been in operation for some time that a further improvement in. his condition~ of service is desirab]e, wogld. he be debarred I from applying for a further modification on the ground that no change of circumstances in. the meantime has taken place?
Where the standing orders provide . I 0 festival holidavs, if counsel were right, the workmen can never applv for an addition in their number as thev would be faced with the contention that the festivals existed at the time of the last certification and there was therefore no change of circumstances. The Act is a beneficent piece of legislation and therefore unless compelled bv any words in it we would not be justified in importing in s. 10 through inference only a restriction to the right conf\lired by it on account of a supposed da11ger Of qiultlpiicity 142 . ·sui>RBMB COURT RB-PORTS . [1969] 2 S. C. R . of app! icatioris. The policy· of s. 10 is clear that. a modification should not be allowed within six months from the date when the standing orders or the last modifications thereof came into operation.
The object of providing the time limit was that the standing orders or their modifications should be allowed to work for suffi-ciently long time to see whether they work proverly or not. Even that. time limit is not rigid because a modification even before six months is permissible if there is an agreement between the parties. • . • '- The ground for urging that a restriction should be read in s. 10 was the apprehension that since workmen individuallv have the right to apply for modifications there would be multiple applications which an employer would have to face. Secondly, that an application without a change of circumstances would be tantamount to a review by the same authority of his previous order of certification. It was said that if no restriction is read in s. 10 it would mean that the same authority. who.
on satisfaction of the fairness and reasonableness of a standing order or its last modification had certified it would be called upon to review his previous decision on reasonableness and fairness. Such a review, D it. was argued, is permissible onlv on well-recognised grounds, namely, discovery of new and important matter or evidence, a mistake or an error apparent on the face of the record or any other sufficient reason. • An application for modification would ordinarily be made E where (1) a change of circumstances has occurred, or (2) where experience of the working of the standing orders last certified results in inconvenience. hardshiP. anomalv etc. or (3) where some fact was Jost si!! ht of at the time of certification, or ( 4) where the. applicant feels that· a modification will be more beneficial. In category ( 1) there would be no difficultv as a change of circum- F stances has . taken place.
But in cases fallinq under the rest of the categories there will be no change of circumsta11ces. Does it mean that though the imPlementation of the standing orders has resultecl in harclshin, inconvenience. or anomalv. no modification can be askecl for because the"e is no change of circumstances ? \ As to multiPlicitv of aPPlications we think that there is no i11stifi-cation for anv . such apprehension. for. unless there is a iustification G for modification the authorities under the Act would rei•ct them on the lea that on principles analogous to the rule of res judicata it should be held that the Chief Labour. Commissioner had no jurisdiction to grant these modificatfons under s. I 0 in. view of the previous decisions given when the Stand- \ ing Orders were originally certified and modified for the first time.
So far as the argnment of learned counsel based on the applicability of principles analogous to the rule of res judicata is concerned, learned counsel conceded that there is no direct ruling of any Court laving down that such principles are applicable when a Certifying Officer. is dealing with an application for modification of Standing Orders under s. I 0 of the Act, or when an appeal H against such an order is bein~ heard bv the Appellate Authority 'Ii. . • under . s. 6 of 'the ·Act.. Reliance was, however, plac~ on the decision of this Court in"Burw & Co. , Calcutta v. Their Empl,o/. s: s: RLY. co. v. WORKERS' UNION (lthargava, J. ) i 47 yees('), where this Court was dealing with the applicability of the principle analogous to the rule of res judicata to proceedings before an Industrial Tribunal dealing with a reference under the Industrial Disputes Act.
In that case, an earlier award had been given in an industrial dispute and the question arose whether, in the subsequent dispute for adjudication, the decisions given in the earlier award should be held as binding, unless it was shown that there had been a change of circumstances. In the appeal before this Court, it was urged that the Appellate Tribunal was in error in brushing aside the earlier award and in deciding the matter afresh as if it arose for the first time for determination; and it was argued that, when once a dispute is referred to a Tribunal and that results in an adjudication, that must be taken as binding on the parties thereto, unless there was a change of circumstances, and, as none such had been alleged or proved, the earlier award should have been accepted, as indeed it was accepted by the Adjudicator. This Court held : "In the instant case, the Labour Appellate Tribunal dismissed this argument with the observation that that was 'a rule of prudence and not of law'.
If the Tribunal meant by this observation that the statute does not enact that an award should not be re-opened except on the ground of change of circumstances, that would be quite • correct. But that is not decisive of the question, because there is no provision in the statute prescribing when and under what circumstances an award could be re-opened. Section 19 ( 4) authorises the Government to move the Tribunal for shortening the period during which· the award would operate, if 'there has been a material chan!! e in the circumstances on which it was based'. But this has reference to the period of one year fixed under section 19 ( 3) and if that indicates anvthing, it is that that would be the proper ground on which the award could be re-opened under section 19(6). and that is what the learned Attorney-General contends. But we propose to consider the question on •' the footing that there is nothing in the statute to indi- • cate the grounds on which an award could be · re-opened.
What then is the position ? Are we to hold that an award given on 'a matter in controversy between the parties after full hearing ceases to have anv force if either of them repudiates it under section 19(6), and that the Tribunal has no option. when the matter is again referred to it for adjudication. but to proceed to. try it de novo, traverse the entire ground once a!! ain, and come to a fresh decision. That would be contrary (! ) (1956] S. C. R. 781 • to the well-recognised principle that a decision once rendered by a competent authority on a matter in issue . betwe® the parties after a full enquiry should not be permitted to be re-agitated. It is on this principle that the rule of res judicata enacted in section 11 of the Civil Procedure Code is based.
That section is, no doubt, in terms inapplicable to the present matter, but the principle underlying it, expressed in the maxim 'interest rei publicae ut sit finis litium', is founded on sound public policy and is of universal application. 'The rule of res judicata is dictated', observed Sir Lawrence Jenkins, C. J. , in Sheoparsan Singh v. Ram-nandan Prasad Singh('), 'by a wisdom which is for all • time. ' And there are good reasons why this principle should be applicable to decisions of Industrial Tribunals also. Legislation regulating the relation between Capital and Labour has two objects in view. It seeks to ensure to the workmen, who have not the capacity to treat with capital on equal terms, fair returns for their labour. It also seeks to prevent disputes between employer and employees, so that production might not be adversely affected and the larger interests of the society might not suffer.
Now, if we are to hold that an adjudication loses its force when it is repudiated under section 19(6) and that the whole controversy is at large, Ullt_ itEPORTS . £1969] 2 s. C. R. . In 1956, however, a radical change was made in . ( . ~. • the provisions of the Act. Section 4, as amended by Act 36 of 1956, has imposed upon the Certifying Officer or the Appellate Authority the duty to adjudicate upon the fairness or the reasonableness of the provisions of any Standing Orders. In other words, after the amend>-ment was made in 1956, the jurisdiction of the certify- .. ing authorities has become very much wider and the scope of the enquiry also has become correspondingly • wider. When dra. ft Standing Orders are submitted for certification, the enquiry now has to be two-fold; are the said Standing Orders in conformity with Model Standing Orders; and are they reasonable or fair ?
In dealing with this latter question, the Certifying Officer and the Appellate Authority have been given powers of a Civil Court by s. 11 ( 1) . The decision of the Certifying Officer is made appealable to the Appellate Authority under s. 6 at the instance of either party. Similarly, by an amendment made in 1956 ins. 10(2), both the employer and the workmen are permitted to apply for the modification of the said Standing Orders after the expiration of 6 months from the date of their coming into operation. It will thus be seein that when , certification proceedings are held be. fore the certifying • authorities, the reasonableness or the fairness of the provisions contained in the draft Standing Orders falls to be examined.
" It is in the light of this scheme of the Act explained by this Court that the decision has to be arrived at as to how, in what manner, and under what circumstances the Certifying Officer or the Appellate Authority should grant modifications when an application under s. 10 ( 2) of the Act is validly made after the expiry of the period of six months laid down in s. 10 ( 1) of the Act. The purpose of the Act, as it was originally passed in 1946, was merely to require employers in industrial establishments to define with sufficient precision the conditions of employment under them and to make the said conditions known to the workmen employed by them. To give effect to this purpose, s. 3 of the • Act gave the power exclusively to the employers to submit draft Standing Orders for certification.
The Certifying Officer had to certify the Standing Orders, if provision was made in them for every matter set out in the Schedule and the Standing Orders were otherwise in conformity with the provisions of the Act. In addition, sub's. (2) of section 3 also laid down that the provision to be made was to be, as far as practicable, in conformity with Model Standing Order~ prescribed by the appropriate State Government. Thus, the Act, in its· original form; ·was designed only s. s. RLY. co. v. WORKERS' UNION (Bhargava, !. ) . 153 for the purpose of ensuring that conditions of service, which the employer laid down, became k! nown to the workmen and the liberty of the employer in prescribing the conditions of service was only limited to the extent that the Standing Orders had to be in conformity with the provisions of the Act and, as far as practicable, in conformity with Model Standing Orders.
The Certifying Officer or the Appellate Authority were debarred from adjudicat-ing upon the fairness or the reasonableness of the provisions of the Standing Orders. Then, as noticed in the case of Rohtak 1 Hissar District Electricity Supply Co. Ltd. ( ), the Legislature made a drastic change in the policy oi the Act by amending section 4 and laying upon the Certifying Officer the duty of deciding whether the Standing Orders proposed by the employer were • reasonable and fair, and also by amending section 10(2) so as to permit even a workman to apply for modification of the certified Standing Orders, while, in the original Act, the employer alone had the right to make such an application. It is, however, to be noticed that the preamble of the Act was not altered, so that the purpose of the Act remained as before.
While the Act was in its unamended form, if the workmen had a grievance, they could not apply for modification of certified Standing Orders and, even at the time of initial certification, they could only object to a Standing Order on the ground that it was not in conformity with the provisions of the Act or Model Standing Orders. After amendment, the workmen were given the right to object to the draft Standing Orders at the time of first certification on the ground that the Standing Orders were not fair and reasonable and, even subsequently, to apply for modification of the certified Standing - . Orders after expiry of the period of six months prescribed under s. 10 ( 1) of the Act. These rights granted to the workmen and the powers conferred on the Certifying Officer and the Appellate Authority, however, ~till had to be exercised for the purpose of giving effect to the object of the Act as it continued to remain in • the preamble, which was not altered.
Before the amendment of the Act, if the workmen had any grievance on the ground of unfairness or unreasonableness of the Standing Orders proposed by the employer, their only remedy lay under the Industrial Dis- •' putes Act. By amendment in 1956, a limited remedy was provided for them in the Act itself by conferring on the Certifying Officer the function of judging the reasonableness and fairness of the proposed Standing Orders. These amendments cannot, however, affect the alternative remedy which the workmen had of seeking redress under the Industrial Disputes Act if they had grievance against any of the Standing Orders oertified by the Certifying Officer ·[See Bangalore Woollen, Cotton and Silk Mills Company Ltd. v. Their Workmen and Another( ), and the (1) [1966] 2 S. C. R. 863. (2) [1968] 1 L. L. J. 555. 2 Sup. CI/69-11 154 SUl'REME COURT REPORTS (1969) 2 _S. C. R. Buckingham and Carnatic Co. Ltd. v. Their Workmen(').
It is, therefore, clear that, after the amendment in 1956, the workmen have now two alternative remedies for seeking alterations in the Standialg Orders proposed or ·already certified. They can object to the proposed Standing Orders at the time of first certification, or can ask for modification of the certified Standing Orders under s. 10(2) on the limited ground of fairness or reasonableness. But, for the same purpose, they also have the alternative remedy of seeking redress under the Industrial Disputes Act, in which case the scope of their demand would be much wider. If the proceedings go for adjudication under the Industrial Disputes Act, the workmen can claim alterations o. f the Standing Orders not merely on the ground of fairness or reasonableness, but even on other grounds, such as furthei: liberalisation of the terms and conditions of service, even though the certified Standing Orders may be otherwise fair and reasonable.
The remedy provided by the Act has, therefore, a limited scope only. In this background, the effect of s. 6, which lays down that when the Appellate Authority gives its decision confimling the Standing Orders either in the form certified by the Certifying Officer or after amending the Standing Orders by making modifications, thereof or additions thereto, his decision shall be final, has further to be considered. On the face ·o. f it, this provision means that, if the Appellate Authority confirms the Standing r Orders at the time of first certification, that order is not to be subsequently questioned before any authority. There is, of course, the provision in s. 10(2) permitting either an employer or a workman to apply for modification of the Standing Orders after the expiry of six months from the date of certification. It appears to me that, on the language of s. 6, it must be held that this request for modification under s.
I 0 ( 2) can only be made on the basis of fresh facts or fresh circumstances ·arising subsequent to the passing of the order by the Appellate Authority under s, 6 confirming the Standing Orders for the first time. If, on receiv- • ing an application for modification under s. 10 ( 2) the Certifying Officer is held to be authorised to reconsider the reasonableness or fairness of a Standing Order already certified and confirmed under section 6 the finality envisaged under that section in respect of the decision of the Appellate Authority will be nullified. Cases may. arise where, on first application for certification of the Standing Orders, an objection may be raised by the workmen and a modification sought on the ground that the proposed Standing Order is not fair or reasonable. Such an objection may be dismissed both by the Certifying Officer and the Appellate Authority.
Six months after the certification, a workman may apply for the same modification of the same Standing Order without any fresh facts or circumstances. If it be held that the power of the (1) Civil Appeal No. 674 of 1968 decided on 25-7-1968. s. s. RLY. co. v. WORKERS' UNION (Bhargava, J. ) 155 Certifying Officer on an application for modification is not limited at all and can be exercised even on the material which was origi- " ' nally before the Certifying Officer and the Appellate Authority, the Certifying Officer may, on the same material, come to a conclusion different from the conclusion arrived at by the Appellate Authority at the first stage under. s. 6 of the Act. In that case, the Certifying Officer may allow the modification which was previously rejected by the Appellate Authority.
The wide interpretation, urged by learned counsel for the workmen in this appeal that the power of a Certifying Officer on an application for modification is not limited at all, can thus result in orders being made which completely negative the finality of the decision given by an Appellate Authority under section 6 at an earlier stage. In fact, if this interpretation is accepted and it is held that an order of modification can be made on the identical material which was available to the Appellate Authority at the time of its earlier order, it would mean that merely because a period of six months has elapsed, a Certifying Officer would be competent to re-appraise the same facts and circumstances, take a different view and set aside the order passed by his superior authority and, thus, in effect, sit in judgment over an order made by a superior authority.
Of course, a Certifying Officer, being junior to the Appellate Authority, may hesitate to do so; but a successor Appellat~ Authority may very well hold views different from his predecessor and may come to a decision on identical material that a Standing ' Order held to be fair and reasonable by his predecessor at the stage of appeal under s. 6 was not fair _and reasonable; and that a modification should be allowed on the ground of being fair and reasonable, even though that modification was disallowed by his predecessor. It is also to be noted that the right to apply for modification is not confined to workmen alone, but that right is granted to the employers also. There can, therefore, be reverse F cases where the draft Standing Order submitted by an employer may be modified by the Appellate Authority under s. 6 and, six months later, the employer may again apply for modification s'. l as to result in restoration of his original draft in the hope that the ..
successor Appellate Authority would hold the opinion that the original draft Standing Order proposed by the employer was fair • and reasonable and that the modification made by his predecessor under s. 6 was not justified. Considering these circumstances, I am of the view that, when an application under s. 10(2) of the Act is made, the Certifying Officer can modify Standing Orders already certified, only if the request is not made on the basis of the same material which existed at the earlier stage when the Standing Orders were certified. I am unable to accept an interpretation which will completely do away with the finality of orders made under s. 6 of the Act by an Appellate Authority. This interpretation, of course, does not affect the right of the ' . workmen to seek an amendment of the Standing Orders, even if certified as reasonable and fair by the Appellate Authority under s. 6 by appropriate proceedings . under the Industrial Disputes Act.
In fact, it appears to me that the power of a Tribunal dealing with an industrial dispute under that Act relating to a Standing Order will, of course, be wide enoogh to permit the Tribunal to direct alteration of a Standing Order held to be reasonable and fair by the Appellate Authority under s. 6 of the Act, in case a dispute about it is referred to the Tribunal; and that is the only remedy available if either the workman or the employer desires to have modification without any fresh grounds, material or circumstances. The validity of the order of the Appellate Authority • in the present appeal has to be judged on this basis. I have already mentioned earlier the various Standing Orders in respect of which modifications allowed by the Appellate Authority were sought to be challenged in this appeal.
The objections in respect of some of these modifications, which were originally -· challenged, were not pressed by counsel during the hearing of the appeal and, consequently, those modifications need not be inter-fered with. At the stage of final hearing, learned counsel only pressed for setting aside four modifications mentioned by the Chief Labour Commissioner in his appellate order as items Nos. 1, 3, 5 and 6 relating to modifications of Standing Orders 9(a), r 12(A) and 11 (vii). It may be mentioned that items 5 and 6 are both modifications in Standing Order 11 (vii). In each of these cases, the order passed by the Chief Labour Commissioner now impugned shows that he did not rely on any fresh facts, . -material or circumstances which were not available at the earlier stage when the Standing Orders were first certified or first modified.
In effect, therefore, the present order amounts to passing orders, different from earlier orders passed by the Appellate Authority, on a re-consideration of the same material which was available to both the Authorities. In fact, the modification at item No. 1 in Standing Order 9(a) had been specifically disallowed in appeal by the Chief Labour Commissioner in his order ·. dated 12th February, 1963, when he first heard the appeal under s. 6 and confirmed the certification of the original Standing Orders. • Thus, in respect of item No. 1, what the present Chief Labour Commissioner has done is to permit the modification because he considered it reasonaNe and fair, even though, on the same material, his predecessor had disallowed this very modification on the basis that, in his opinion, the original draft Standing Order was fair and reasonable.
On the principle enunciated above, it is clear that the order of the Chief Labour Commissioner, allowing all these four modifications, which is not based on any fresh facts, material or. circumstances, is liable to be set aside. s. s. RLY. co. v. WORKERS' UNION (Bhargava, J. ) 157 A As a result, I would partly allow the appeal and set aside the . . ' order of the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central), permitting modifications mentioned by him in his Order at item Nos. 1, 3, 5 and 6 relating to Standing Orders 9(a), 12(A) and ll(vii). In the circumstances of this case, I would direct parties to bear their own costs of this appeal. ll V. P. S . Appeal allowed in part. • •
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