TMI Blog1998 (2) TMI 582X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to comply with the provisions of Article 235 of the Constitution in appointing judge of the Labour Court. A learned Single Judge of the High Court set aside the Notification of 8th of March, 1979 and also gave a direction to the State of Maharashtra to comply with the provisions of Article 234 of the Constitution while making appointments of judges of the Labour Court. Being aggrieved b y this judgment and order, the appellant-State of Maharashtra preferred an appeal before a Division Bench of the High Court which appeal has been dismissed. Hence, the present appeal has been filed before us. Labour Courts have been constituted in the State of Maharashtra under the Industrial Disputes Act, the Bombay Industrial Relations Act and also under the Maharashtra Recognition of Trade Unions an d Prevention of Unfair Labour Practices Act. Prior to 1974, the qualifications of a person to be appointed as a judge to of the Labour Court under the Industrial Disputes Act as laid down in Section 7 were as follows: (a) that he was or had been a judge of that High Court; or (b) that he h ad for a period of not less than three years been a District Judge or an Additional District Judge ; o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in law of a University established by law in any part of India and is holding or has held an office not lower in rank than that of Deputy Registrar of any such Industrial Court or Tribunal, or of Assistant Commissioner of Labour under the State Government, in both cases for not less than five years. By this amendment, the requirements contemplated under Article 234 of the Constitution were deleted. Under Section 6 of the Maharashtra Recognition of Trade Unions and Prevention of Unfair Labour Practices Act, 1971, the State Government is entitled to constitute one or more Labour Courts and appoint persons having prescribed qualifications as judges of these courts. The proviso to Section 6 lays down that no person shall be appointed unless he possesses the qualifications other than the qualification of age. prescribed under Article 234 of the Constitution for being eligible to enter the judicial service in the State of Maharashtra and is not more than 60 years of age. This provision remains unamended. However, in view of the amendment carried out in the Industrial Disputes Act and the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, the state Government felt that it was open to the State Gover ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... or requisites :- (1) the presentation of their case by the parties; (2) ascertainment of facts by means of evidence adduced by the parties often with the assistance of argument ;(3) if the dispute relates to a question of law, submission of legal, arguments b y the parties; an d (4) b y decision which disposes of the whole matter by findings on fact and application of law to facts so found, judged by the same tests, a Labour Court would undoubtedly be a court in the true sense of the term. The question, however, is whether such a court an d the presiding officer of such a court can be said to hold a post in the judicial service of the State as defined in Article 236 of the Constitution. Part VI, Chapter VI, of the Constitution of India deals with courts subordinate to the High Court. Article 233 which is the first Article of this Chapter, deals with appointment of District Judge. Article 234 provides as follows: 234 : Recruitment of persons other than district judges to the judicial service - Appointments of persons other than district judges tot he judicial service of a State Shall be made by the Governor of the state shall be made by him in that behalf after consultatio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sing civil original jurisdiction; and the person presiding over it could well be termed as a District Judge. The term District Judge should not b e confined only to the judge of the Principal Civil Court in the hierarchy of general civil courts. The term would now have to include also the hierarchy of specialised civil courts, such as a hierarchy of Labour Courts and Industrial Courts. The fact that the Chief Presidency Magistrate and the Sessions Judge were also included in the definition of District Judge indicates that a wide interpretation is to be given tot he expression District Judge . The extensive definition of a District Judge under Article 236 is indicative of the same. Under Article 236 (b), the expression judicial service is defined to mean a service consisting exclusively of persons intended to fill the post of district judge and other civil judicial posts inferior to the post of district judge. Judicial service thus postulates a hierarchy of courts with t he District Judge as the head an d other judicial officers under him discharging only judicial functions. In the case of Chandra Mohan v. State of Uttar Pradesh Ors [AIR 1966 SC 1987] this Court was ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... th preserving independence of the judiciary from the executive and making sure t hat persons from non- judicial services, such as, the police, excise or revenue were not considered as eligible for appointment as District Judges. That is why the emphasis is on the fact that the judicial service should consist exclusively of judicial officers. This judgment should not be interpreted narrowly to exclude from judicial service new hierarchies of civil courts being set up which are headed by a judge who can b e considered as a District Judge kneading in mind the extensive definition of that term in Article 236. The High Court has, therefore, correctly interpreted the observations of this Court in Chandra Mohan's case (supra) as giving paramount importance to the enforcement of the constitutional scheme providing for independence of the judiciary. The concern of the court was to see that this independence was not destroyed by an indirect method. For the same reason of maintaining independence of the judiciary, in the case of Statesman (Private) Ltd. v. H.R. Deb Ors. [AIR 1968 SC 1495], this Court observed that the intention of the Legislature in framing Section 7 (prior to ame ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lding that it is only the hierarchy of ordinary civil courts in the narrow sense headed by a District Judge which comes under t he term judicial service under Article 236. The view taken by the Allahabad High Court appears to b e too narrow a view of the term judicial service . In Chandra Mohan's case (supra), t his Court was primarily concerned with excluding from judicial service persons who held posts in services which were not exclusively judicial. When the service is exclusively judicial, there is no reason to exclude such judicial service from that term under Article 236. The High Court in the present case is justified in rejecting the narrow view taken in that judgment. In the case of Shri Kumar Padma Prasad v. Union of India Ors. [(1992) 2 SC 428], this Court had to consider qualifications for the purpose of appointment as a judge of the High Court under Article 217 of the Constitution. While interpreting the expression judicial office under Article 217(2) (a), this Court held that the expression judicial office must be interpreted in consonance with the scheme of Chapters V and VI of Part VI of the Constitution. Son construed it means a judicial office whic ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... amers of the Constitution to preserve and promote independence of the judiciary from the executive. Thus Article 233 which deals with appointment of District judges requires that such appointments shall be made by the Governor of the State in consultation with the High Court. Article 233(2) has been interpreted as prescribing that a person in the service of the Union or the State can refer only to a person in the judicial service of the Union or the State. Article 234 which deals with recruitment of persons other that District Judges to the judicial service requires that their appointments can be made only in accordance with the Rules framed b y the Governor of the State after consultation with the State Public Service Commission and with the High Court. Article 235 provides that he control over district courts and courts subordinate thereto shall be vested in the High Court; and Article 236 defines the expression District Judge extensively as covering judges of a city civil court etc, as earlier set out, and the expression judicial service as meaning a service consisting exclusively of persons intended to fill the post of the District Judge and other civil judicial posts ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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