TMI Blog1953 (11) TMI 17X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rt, Greater Bombay, under section 27 of the Industrial Disputes (Appellate Tribunal) Act (No. XLVIII of 1950) but reduced their sentences from six months rigorous imprisonment to three months simple imprisonment and set aside against each of the appellants the sentence of fine of ₹ 1,000. The appellants are the President and the Secretaries of the Mill Mazdoor Sabha, a union of textile workers in Bombay registered under, the Indian Trade Unions Act. It appears that there are about 2,10,000 textile workers working in Bombay and about 35 per cent. of them belong to three different labour unions. The first is called Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor. Sangh which is recognized as a representative union under the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on filed complaints before the Presidency Magistrate on August 28, charging the appellants with an offence under section 27 of the Appellate Tribunal Act. The Mill Mazdoor Sabha applied to be made a party to the appeal, but the application was rejected. As already stated, the appellants were convicted by the Presidency Magistrate, but their sentences were reduced on appeal by the High Court. Two main contentions were raised on behalf of the appellants, firstly that the conviction under section 27 of the Appellate Tribunal Act was illegal, because there was no competent and valid appeal against the award before the Appellate Tribunal and secondly that section 27 of the Act is void as being opposed to the fundamental rights of the appella ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... instigated the strike while the appeal was pending before the Appellate Tribunal. It is contended that section 24 contemplates the pendency of a valid and competent appeal, but as no valid or competent appeal under the law was pending, the appellants committed no offence under section 27. We are unable to accept this contention. Section 24 on a plain and natural construction requires for its application no more than that an appealshould be pending and there is nothing in the languageto justify the introduction of the qualification that itshould be valid or competent. Whether the appeal is valid or competent is a question entirely for the appellate court before whom the appeal is filed to determine, and this determination is possible only ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , contention raised before us. There is yet another reason for not construing the word appeal in the manner suggested by the appellants and that is that the legislature in introducing this provision contemplated that industrial peace should not be disturbed so long as, the matter was pending in the court of appeal, irrespective of the fact whether such an appeal was competent in: law. If this were not the case, the parties could easily, defeat the object of the legislature by arrogating to, themselves the right to decide about the competency of the appeal without reference to the court, commit a breach of the peace and escape the penalty imposed by section 27. There was no justification for the appellants to instigate the, workers in the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ny industry in any local area. If a union does not satisfy that condition, and has a membership of not less than 15 per cent., it can be registered as a qualified union. If neither of these unions has been registered in respect of an industry, then a union having a membership of not less than 15 per cent. of the total number of employees employed in any undertaking in such industry can by an application to the Registrar be registered as a primary union. It is common ground that the Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh comes under the first category and the union of which the appellants are officebearers comes under the second namely that it is a qualified union. This registration can be cancelled under section 15 if it has been procured by mista ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ge or when their membership fell below the prescribed percentage. It is perfectly open to the appellants to enlist that percentage or even a higher one and claim precedence over the Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh so as to be able to represent the interests of all the workers. The right to freedom of speech and expression is not denied to the appellants, nor are they prohibited from forming associations or unions. The Act makes no discrimination between textile workers as a class but lays down a reasonable classification to the effect that a certain percentage of membership possessed by a union will be allowed to represent the workers as a class to the exclusion of others, but there is nothing to prevent the other unions or other workers from ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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