CO-OPERATIVE CENTRAL BANK LTD. & ORS. versus ADDITIONAL INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNAL, ANDHRA PRADESH & ORS.

Citation: [1970] 1 S.C.R. 205 · Decided: 03-04-1969 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: J.M. SHELAT · Disposal: Dismissed
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Judgment (excerpt)

• 
A 
CO-OPERATIVE CENTRAL BANK LTD. & ORS. 
B 
c 
D 
E 
F 
G 
H 
v. 
ADDmONAL INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNAL, ANDllRA 
PRADESH & ORS. 
April 3, 1969 
[J.M. Sm!LAT, V, BHARGAVA AND C. A. VAIDIALINGAM, JJ.j 
Andhra Pradesh Co-operative Societies Act (7 of 1964), s. 61 and 
Industrial Disputes Act (14 of 1947), s. lO(l)(d)-Industrial dispute-
Whether could be referred to Registrar of Co-Operative Societies under 
s. 61 of Andhra Act-Jurisdiction of Industrial Tribunal if barred-
'Touching the business of Society", meaning of-Scope of s. 16(5) of the 
Andhra Act. 
Disputes between some Cooperative Central Banks of Andhra Pradesh 
and their employees, relating to : (i) service conditions such as salary 
scales, dea:mess and other allowances, conveyance charges, working hours 
and promotion, age of retirement, provident fund and gratuity, leave 
rules, departmental ~nquiries, probation and confirmation; and (ill the 
question whet~r t'ransfers of some employees were justified, were referred 
to the Industrial Tribunal under s. IO(l)(d) of tbe .Industrial Disputes 
Act, 1947. 
On the question whether the Industrial Tribunal had no 
jurisdiction to decide tbe disputes, because : (I) the disputes could be 
referred to the Registrar of Cooperative Societies under s. 61 of the 
· Andhra Pradesh Cooperative Societies Act, 1964; (2) the Registrar, 
in 
dealing with the disputes referred to him under s. 61 of the Andhra Act, 
could grant relief by amending the bye-laws under s. 16(5); and (3) 
If the Industrial Tribunal gave relief to the employees it would be 
altering the. bye-laws thus making orders contrary to law. 
HELD : (I) (a) The Andhra Act is an enactment passed by the 
Slate Legislature and received the assent of the President. 
Therefore. if 
any provision of the Industrial Disputes' Act (a Central Act) is repug-
nant to any provision of the Andhra Act, the latter would prevail. But 
s. 61 of the Andhra Act requires 'reference of a dispute_ to the Registrar 
only if the dispute is capable df being resolved by him or his nominee, 
and if the dispute between the 
cooperative society and its 
employee 
touches the business of the society. 
The \vord 'business' means actual 
trading or commercial or other similar business activity of the society. 
Therefore, whatever a society does o'r is required to do for the purpose 
of carrying out its objects, such as laying down the conditions of service 
of its employees, cannot be said to be a part of its 'business', and hence, 
a dispute relating to conditiom1 of service of the workmen employed by 
the society cannot be held to be a dispute touching the business of the 
society. 1209 E-F: 215 B-D, G-Hl 
(b) The Registrar could not have granted the reliefs claimed because 
of the limitations placed on b.is powers by the Andhra Act. Most of the 
Conditions of sel'V!ce which the workmen want to be altered to their benefit 
have been laid down by the bye-laws, so that, any alteration in tbose con-
ditions of service will requirn a change in the bye-laws. But such a change 
could not possibly be directed by the Registrar, because, under s. 62( 4) · 
df the Andhra Act, the Registrar or other person or arbitrator to whom 
the dispute may be referred under s. 61 is specifically required to decide 
the. dispute referred to hirr1 in accordance with the provisions-of-1he bye-
laws. [216 B·D, FT 
206 
SUPREME COUllT REPORTS 
[I970J I S.C.R 
Th• Deccan M•rchants Cooperotiv• Bank Ud. v. Mis. Dulicht.fld 
Jugraj Jain, [1969] 1 S.C.R. 887, followed. 
South A.rcot Cooperalive M olor Transport Society Ltd. v. Syed Batcha, 
[1960] II L.L.J. 693, approved, 
(2) The provisions of s. I 6(5) of the Andhra Act are irrelevant in 
comidering the scope of the jurisdiction of the Registrar uode'c s. 61 of 
the Act, because : (a) any action taken by the Registrar under s. 16(5) 
will not be a decision in a dispute referred lo him under s. 6 I; ( b) though 
the Registrar has the power to amend bye-laws under " 16(5) any other 
person or arbitrator, to whom the disputes may be referred, bas no such 
power; and (c) even !be Registrar's powers under s. 16(5) to amend bye-
laws is to be exercised only if he is of the opinion that it would be in the 
interests of the society and are not contemplated to be exercised in the 
interests of the workmen or for the purpose of resolving industrial disputa. 
[219 B-EJ 
(3) The principle that rules framed unller a statute have the force of 
Statute does not apply to bye-laws of a coop
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