WARAJYA KAMGAR SANGHATANA THROUGH ITS GENERAL SECRETARY YOGESH CHANRAKANT GALANDE v. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA THROUGH SECRETARY AND ANOTHER
Case Details
1 904 W. P. No. 10417-2022.odt IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABAD 904 WRIT PETITION NO.10417 OF 2022 SWARAJYA KAMGAR SANGHATANA THROUGH ITS GENERAL SECRETARY YOGESH CHANRAKANT GALANDE VERSUS STATE OF MAHARASHTRA THROUGH SECRETARY AND ANOTHER ... Advocate for Petitioners : Barde Parag Vijay AGP for Respondents: Mr. P. S. Patil Advocate for Respondent/ intervenor : Mr. S. V. Natu CORAM : RAVINDRA V. GHUGE & SANJAY A. DESHMUKH, J. DATE : 11.10.2022 PER COURT :- The petitioner Union has put forth prayer clause A and B 1. as under :- (a) This Civil application may please be allowed and respondent No.3- petitioner be directed to array the
Decision
applicants as respondents in the Writ Petition. (b) Any other order or relief as is found due and necessry may please be passed in favour of the applicants. 2. The petitioner is a Union registered under the Indian Trade Union Act, 1926. It has received recognition under Section 12 of the The Maharashtra Recognition of Trade Unions and Prevention of Unfair Labour Practices Act, 1971, ( herein after 2 904 W. P. No. 10417-2022.odt referred to as MRTU and PULP Act) vide the judgment and order of the Industrial Court dated 06.05.2013. On 01.03.2022, 150 members of the Union which claims to have strength of around 500 members, sought conveying of a special meeting. Vide notice dated 15.03.2022, a special meeting was scheduled on 02.04.2022. In the meeting held on 02.04.2022, elections were held and new ofce bearers were elected. The minutes of meeting were delivered to the Dy. Registrar of Trade Unions on 07.04.2022. By communication dated 02.05.2022, the change in the ofce bearers was also communicated. 3. The reason for the petitioners Union in approaching this Court is an order passed by the Assistant Commissioner, Labour cum Deputy Registrar under the Indian Trade Unions Act, dated 27.09.2022, vide which the election held on 02.04.2022, were stayed and the union was directed not to enter into an agreement with any employer. 4. Extensive submissions of the learned Advocate for the petitioners, the learned AGP on behalf of respondent Nos. 1 and 2 and Shri. Natu, learned Advocate who has entered an application for intervention on behalf of two members of the same Union who were General Secretary and executive 3 904 W. P. No. 10417-2022.odt president of the said union prior to the election held on 02.04. 2022. Considering that the petitioner volunteered to fle an afdavit through Yogesh Chandranant Galande, President of the union that the elections that were held in 01.01.2022 would not be disturbed and fresh elections will be held on January 2023, that we are not adverting to all the contentions of the litigating parties, including the contention of the intervenors that a fabricated record is produced before the Registrar Trade Unions and a diferent record is produced before this Court in the Writ Petition. 5. Sufce it to say that there appear to be two factions in this union. The recognition is not yet disturbed at the behest of either of the faction. It is also undisputed that, the Assistant Commissioner Labour cum Deputy Registrar Trade Unions has not issued a consent certifcate under Section 28 (1-A) of the Trade Unions Act, permitting the aggrieved faction to approach the Industrial Court. 6. Strangely enough, what has actually happened is that at the request of 150 members, the president of the Union who was elected on 01.01.2022 convened a special meeting on 2nd April 2022. The purported agenda of the meeting is not 4 904 W. P. No. 10417-2022.odt before us, though it is canvassed by the petitioner that the agenda was for holding fresh elections. What intrigues us is as to how elections could be held within three months of the elections already held as per the constitution of union, without there being any vacancy and without any ofce bearer having resigned from his post. It appears that one faction of the union buldozed its way in the meeting of 2nd April, 2022 and a record is created that fresh elections are held. Per-se, such elections are illegal in view of the fact that not a single ofce bearer has resigned and there were no vacancies, in as much as, the elections were not due until 1st January, 2023. 7. Shri. Yogesh Chandranant Galande has tendered an afdavit in the Court, which is tanen on record and marned as X for identifcation, stating therein that the union is aggregable to continue the ofce bearers who were elected on 1.1.2022 until the elections are due on 01.01.2023. 8. In view of the above, it would be appropriate for this Court to relegate the matter to the Deputy Registrar Trade Unions to pass appropriate orders on the communication dated 07.04.2022, and 02.05.2022 thereby rejecting the said communications and declaring the election dated 02.04.2022 to 5 904 W. P. No. 10417-2022.odt be null and void. 9. As such, this petition is disposed of with the following directions :- (a) The Deputy Registrar Trade Union will pass an order in the light of our observations set out herein above and reject the communication dated 07.04.2022 and 02.05.2022 by declaring the election to be Null and void. This order be passed on or before 17th October 2022. (b) The elected ofce bearers who have assumed ofce vide election dated 01.01.2022 would continue till the elections are held in January 2023. (c) In the event of any member of the Union raising a dispute before the Deputy Registrar Trade Union, the said authority would consider the said dispute strictly in accordance with the provisions of Trade Unions Act. (d) The applicant intervenor Shri. Anash Babn Dandavate who is elected as General Secretary vide the election dated 01.01.2022, would continue as the General Secretary of the Union until the elections are held in January 2023. So would be the case of all ofce bearers elected on 1st January 2022. (e) In view of the above, after the Deputy Registrar passes an order as directed, the impugned order dated 27.09.2022 shall lose it’s efcacy and shall stand set aside. 6 904 W. P. No. 10417-2022.odt 10. In view of the above, the civil application is disposed of. (SANJAY A. DESHMUKH ) (RAVINDRA V. GHUGE,) JUDGE ysn