A member's club is not an industry within the meaning of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.

Judgement

HIDAYATULLAH, J. :- The Industrial Tribunal, Madras by its award, September 2, 1964 has held that the management of the Gymkhana Club, Madras is not liable to pay bonus to its workmen for the year 1962, as the Club is not an industry . The Madras Gymkhana club Employees Union now appeals to this Court by special leave.

2. The Madras Gymkhana Club is admittedly a members club and not a proprietary club. On December 31, 1962 its membership was about 1,200 with 800 active members. The object of the club is to provide a venue for sports and games and facilities for recreation and entertainment. For the former, it maintains a golf course, tennis courts, rugby and football grounds and has made arrangement for billiards, pingpong and other indoor games. As part of the latter activities it arranges dance, dinner and other parties and runs a catering department which provides food and refreshments not only generally but also for dinners and parties on special occasions. The club employs ax officers (a Secretary, a Superintendent and four Accountants and Cashiers), twenty clerks and a large number of peons, stewards, butlers, gate-attendants, etc. Its catering department has a separate managerial, clerical and other staff. Altogether there are 194 employees. The affairs of the club are managed by a Committee elected annually. Two of the members of the Committee work as Hony. Secretary and Hony. Treasurer respectively.

3. The membership of the club is varied There are resident members, non-resident members, temporary members, garrison members, independent lady members, etc. The resident members pay an entrance fee of Rs. 300 and Rs. 20 per month as subscription. Garrison members and independent lady members do not pay any entrance fee and their subscription is Rs. 10 per month. Guests, both local and from outside, are admitted subject to certain restrictions as to the number of days on which they can be invited to the Club. The club runs tournaments for the benefit of members and for exhibition to non-members. The income and expenditure of the club are of the order of four and a quarter lakh rupees, its moveable and immovable properties are worth several lakh rupees and its wage bill is between one and two lakh rupees. The question in this appeal is whether the respondent club can be said to be an industry for the application of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The Tribunal, after considering many decisions rendered by this Court and also by the High Courts in India, came to the conclusion that the club was not an industry and the claim for bonus behalf of its employees was therefore unsustainable. The appellant union contends that the decision of the Tribunal is not correct and that the club must be treated as an industry for the application of the Act.

4. As we are concerned primarily with the question whether the club comes within the definition of industry as given in the Industrial Disputes Act, we may begin by reading that definition and other provisions which have a bearing upon the question. The Industrial Disputes Act was passed to make provisions for the investigation and settlement of industrial disputes and for certain other purposes appearing in the Act. The emphasis in the Act is primarily upon the investigation and settlement of industrial disputes. The expression "industrial dispute" is defined by Section 2 (k) as follows:-

"industrial dispute" means any dispute or difference between employers and employers or between employers and workmen, or between workmen and workmen, which is connected with the employment or non-employment or the terms of employment or with the conditions of labour, of any person.

"Industry" is defined in Clause (i) as follows :-

"industry" means any business, trade, undertaking, manufacture or calling of employers and includes any calling, service, employment, handicraft, or industrial occupation or avocation of workmen.

The word "employer" is defined by Cl. (g) of the section as-

"employer