R.G. D'SOUZA versus POONA EMPLOYEES UNION &ANR.

Citation: [2014] 14 S.C.R. 543 · Decided: 18-11-2014 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: V. GOPALA GOWDA · Disposal: Dismissed

Judgment (excerpt)

[2014] 14 S.C.R. 543 
R.G. D'SOUZA 
A 
v. 
POONA EMPLOYEES UNION &ANR. 
(CivilApp~al No. 10129.of2010) 
NOVEMBER 18, 2014 · 
B 
[V. GOPALA GOWDA AND C. NAGAPPAN, JJ.] · 
Trade Union Act, 1926 - s: 1 o ,... Cancellation of 
registration certificate - On facts, cancellation of the · 
registration certificate of trade union-respondent no. 1 by the C 
Additional Registrar on the ground of non-filing bf the 
necessary documents as per the Rules and Regulation and 
that the certificate' was .obtained by mistake and fraud -
Industrial court setting aside ~he cancellation of ceitificate of 
registration and High Court upholding the same - · 0 
. Interference with - Held: No valid or cogent reasons to 
interfere - High Court rightly upheld the decision of the 
Industrial Court holding that the cancellation of registration 
was not legal or valid- Trade Union neither suppressed nor 
supplied any information by frau<;J or mistake i~prde,r to obtain E 
the Certificate of Registration - Discrepancy in providing 
details in the prescribed Form ~·being a product of the 
Amendment Act,' inserted in 2002, cannot invalidate nor is a 
valid ground to cancel the Registration of the Trade. Union in 
1~6 
' 
Dismissing the appeal, the Court 
HELO : 1. The act of fraud or mistake cannot be 
attributed to the Trade Union since the information 
provided by the Trade Union for registering itself is not 
F 
by fraud or mistake as mandated under Section 10 of G 
the Trade Union Act. The High Court rightly affirmed the 
decision of the Industrial Court, wherein it rightly set 
aside the cancellation of Certificate of Registration of the 
Trade Union holding that it is not legal or valid. 
543 
H 
544 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[2014] 14 S.C.R. 
A There are no valid or cogent reasQns to interfere with 
the same in exercise of this Court's Appellate Jurisdiction. 
[Para 15 and ~ 9][553-G-H; 555-E-G] 
. 
i. ' 
2. Sections 4, 5, and 6 of the Trade Union Act & 
Rules, which provide for furnishing the details in the 
B application to be submitted for registration of the Trade 
Union,. must be·complied with to be entitled for 
registration. However, the 1st proviso of Section 4; 
clause (aa), (b) and (c) of Section 5 and clause (ee) & 
(hh) of Section 6 were inserted to the Act only by the 
C Amendment Act of 31 of 2001, w.e.f. 09.01.2002, whereas 
the Trade Union was regist~red in the year 1986 when 
part of the said provisions were not .present. Therefore, 
, although it was necessary for the Trade Union to 
c~mply with and provide all the necessary details under 
D the said provisions that were relevant at the time of 
registration, the Registrar either by mistake or due to 
incorrect assessment or non-application of mind may 
have issued a Certificate of Registration to the Trade 
Union. This official act by the Registrar of Trade Unions 
E cannot be nullified by him under Section 10 of the Act, 
but can only be rectified by the appellate authority or 
writ court as rightly opined by the High Cou'i1. On facts, 
' 
'l 
~ 
. 
. 
the Trade Union has neither suppressed nor supplied 
any information by fraud or mistake in order to obtain 
F the Certificate of Registration. Therefore, discrepancy in 
• 
providing details in the prescribed Form 'A' being a 
product of the Amendment Act cannot invalidate or is 
not a valid ground to cancel the Certificate of Registration 
of the. Trade Union. [Para 17 and 18][554-A-H; 555-C-E] 
G 
3. The High Court correctly held that the word 
H 
"any" in the application form and the Rules of the Trade 
·Union under Section 6 of th'e Act can be considered as 
"all". The High Court rightly held that the word "any" 
R.G D'SOUZAv. POONA EMPLOYEES UNION &ANR. 
545 
could mean that the object the Trade Union was to A 
operate in all types of industries in Pune District. The 
necessity of specifying or disclosing the nature of 
industry/industries in which the Trade Union intends to 
operate and functions came only when the Section 2 of 
the amendment Act of 31 of 2001 (w.e.f. 9.1.2002r was B 
inserted in the Trade Unions Act, 1926, whereas the Trade 
Union was registered in the year 1986. The requirement 
of workmen engaged in an establishment or industry 
with which it is connected to be members of the Trade 
Union came only after Section 4 was amended and the C 
provisos were incorporated which came into force w.e.f. 
09.01.2002, which is much after the registration of the 
Trade Union. This requirement was not needed at the 
t

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