THE STATE OF RAJASTHAN versus THE MEWAR TEXTILE MILLS LTD, BHILWARA AND OTHERS

Citation: [1954] 1 S.C.R. 1129 · Decided: 17-03-1954 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: MEHR CHAND MAHAJAN
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Judgment (excerpt)

S.C.R. 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS. 
THE STATE OF RAJASTHAN 
tJ. 
THE MEWAR TEXTILE MILLS LTD., 
BHIL W ARA AND OTHERS. 
[MEHR CHAND MAHAJAN c. J., MUKHERJEA, 
S. R. DAs, VIVIAN 
Bos'.E and 
GHULAM HASAN JJ.] 
U29 
Industrial Disputes Act (Act XIV of 1947), s. 7(3) (a), and 
(b) as amended by s. 34 of the 
Industrial 
Disputes 
(Appellate 
Tribunal) Act (XLVlll of 1950)-A fudge of a High Court and a 
District fudge-Whether includes a fudge of the High Court and a 
District fudge in the former State of fodhpur. 
Held, that under s. 7(3) (a) and (b) of the 
Industrial Disputes 
Act (XIV of 1947) as amended by s. 34 of the Industrial Disputes 
(Appellate Tribunal) ~ct (XLVIII of 1950) the phrase "a Judge of 
a High Court and a District Judge" includes a Judge of the High 
Court and a District Judge in the former State of Jodhpur. 
C1v1L 
Ai>PELLATE 
JuR1so1cTtoN : 
Civil 
Appeal 
No. 103 of 1952. 
Appeal under article 133 ( 1) ( c) of the 
Constitution 
of India from the Judgment and Order, dated the 10th 
August, 1951, of the 
High 
Court of 
Judicature 
for 
Rajasthan at Jodhpur (Wanch6o 
and 
Bapna 
JJ.), 
in D. B. 
Civil 
Miscellaneous 
Application 
No. 
21 
of 1951. 
K. S. Hajela, 
Advocate-General 
of Rajasthan, 
for 
the appellant. 
No appearance for the respondents. 
1954. March 17. The Judgment of the 
Court was 
delivered by 
GHULAM HASAN J.-This appeal is brought under 
a certificate granted by the 
High Court of Rajasthan 
under article 133 ( c) of the Comtitution of India against 
a judgment and order 
of that 
High 
Court in writ 
petition under article 226 holding the appointment 
of 
one Shri Sukhdeo Narain as invalid and directing that 
all proceedings taken by him as the 
Industrial 
Court 
under section 7 of the Industrial Disputes Act (No. XIV 
of 1947) are null and void. 
1954 
Marth 17 
1954 
Thi State of 
Rajasthan 
v. 
Tht Mewar Tex· 
tile Mills Ltd., 
Bhilwara 
and Ot™rs. 
Ghulam HaJan ]. 
1130 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[1954] 
We are informed that Shri Sukhdeo Narain has 
ceased to work as 
an Industrial Tribunal 
and the". 
present appeal, therefore, becomes infructuous, 
but we 
are invited by the Advocate-General on behalf of the 
State of Rajasthan who is the appellant before us to 
decide the question as to the validity of the appoint-
ment, as it is likely to affect other awards 
made by 
tribunals 
under 
the 
Industrial 
Disputes 
Act. 
We 
according! y proceed to give our decision. 
The question involved in the case is whether 
the 
appointment of Shri Sukhdeo Narain is invalid because 
he does not fulfil the 
qualifications laid down for a 
tribunal 
under section 7(3) of the Industrial Disputes 
Act. 
Section 7(3) hereinafter referred to as the Industrial 
Act says:-
"Where a tribunal consists of one member only, 
that member, and where it 
consists of two 
or more 
members, the 
chairman of the 
tribunal, shall be a 
person who-
(a) is or has been a Judge of a High Court; or 
(b) is or has been a District Judge ; 
" 
The Industrial Act was applied to Rajasthan by the 
Rajasthan 
Adaptation of 
Central 
Laws 
Ordinance, 
1950 (Ordinance IV of 1950), by the 
Rajpramukh on 
January 24, 1950. 
By this adaptation section 7 of the 
Industrial Act came to be applied to 
Rajasthan. 
Shri 
Sukhdeo Narain was appointed on October 9, 1950, by 
a notificati<;m which ran as follows :-
"In exercise of the powers conferred by section 7 
of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (XIV of 1947) the 
Government of 
Rajasthan is pleased to constitute 
an 
Industrial Tribunal consisting of Shri Sukhdeo Narain, 
a retired Judge of the 
High 
Court 
of the erstwhile 
Jodhpur 
State for the adjudication of an 
Industrial 
dispute in the Mewar Textile Mills Ltd., Bhilwara, in 
Rajasthan." 
The 
appointment of Shri 
Sukhdeo Narain 
was 
objected to by the respondent on the ground that the 
S.C.R. 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
1131 
words "a Judge of a High Court" in section 7(3) mean 
"a Judge of the 
High 
Court of 
Judicature for Rajas-
than established 
under the 
Rajasthan 
High 
Court 
Ordinance, 1949" and as 
Shri 
Sukhdeo Narain had 
been a Judge of the High Court of the former 
State of 
Jodhpur, he could not be held to be Judge of the 
High 
Court under section 7(3) of the 
Industrial Act. · This 
objection was upheld by the High Court. 
Though the appointment of Shri Sukhdeo Narain in 
the notification was based upon the fact that he was a 
retired Judge of the High Court of · Jodhpur, in argu-
ments· it was also co
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