IMPORTANT POINTS
Registration of a trade union can be cancelled on the ground of fraud or mistake, but not by mistake due to incorrect assessment or non-application of mind or mechanical act on the part of the Authority; that too after a proper enquiry.
Even in case of mistake found after proper enquiry Registrar cannot cancel the registration granted by it. It can be done by either by the appellate authority or the High Court in its writ jurisdiction.

JUDGMENT

V.GOPALA GOWDA, J.

The appellant has filed this appeal questioning the correctness of the Judgment and order dated 25.2.2009 passed in W.P. No.4048 of 2008 by the Division Bench of High Court of Judicature at Bombay affirming the order of Industrial Court, Pune dated 11.04.2008 whereby the Industrial Court set aside the order of Additional Registrar, cancelling the Registration Certificate of the Poona Employees Union-the respondent No.1 (hereinafter referred to as the Trade Union), urging various facts and legal contentions.

2. The factual matrix and the rival legal contentions are briefly stated hereunder with a view to find out as to whether the impugned Judgment and order warrants interference by this Court under its appellate jurisdiction.

The appellant was the Union President of the Trade Union when the application for the Registration of it was submitted. Due to internal clashes, he was expelled from the Trade Union. There were some disputes between the Trade Union and another Union namely, Bhartiya Kamgar Sena (“BKS” for short) pending before the Industrial Court. The appellant claimed that he was an active member in the Labour movement and an interested party and therefore, filed an application under Section 10 of the Trade Unions Act, 1926 (for short “the Act”) before the Additional Registrar of Trade Unions seeking cancellation of the Certificate of Registration of the Trade Union on the ground that the same was obtained by fraud, mistake or misrepresentation.

The ground taken for cancellation of the registration of the Trade Union was non-filing of the necessary documents as per the Rules and Regulation and obtained Registration Certificate by mistake and fraud which was accepted by the Additional Registrar of the Trade Unions. The Additional Registrar of Trade Unions by his order dated 12.2.2008 cancelled the registration of the Trade Union.

3. Being aggrieved by the said order, the Trade Union filed an appeal under Section 11 of the Act before the Industrial Court, Pune, the Appellate Authority. After hearing both the parties, the Industrial Court, Pune passed an order on 11.4.2008, by recording its reasons, set aside the order passed by the Additional Registrar of Trade Unions.

4. Being aggrieved by the order passed by the Industrial Court, the appellant preferred writ petition No. 4048 of 2008 before the High Court of Bombay under Article 226 of the Constitution of India urging various grounds, inter alia contending that the order passed by the Industrial Court is vitiated both on the grounds of erroneous finding and error in law. The High Court came out with the following two issues involved in the petition:

(i) Whether the appellant had locus standi to invoke the proceedings under Section 10 of the Trade Unions Act, 1926?

(ii) Whether the Registration Certificate obtained by fraud or mistake by the first respondent-Trade Union and so liable to be cancelled?

5. The High Court rejected the submissions made on behalf of the appellant and held that the appellant had no locus to apply for cancellation of the Certificate of Registration of the Trade Union and that the view taken by the Industrial Court on the same is legal and valid.

6. Mr. C. U. Singh, the learned senior counsel on behalf of the appellant has argued that the Industrial Court completely mixed up the issues while answering the questions of law raised before it. It is urged by him that at the time of applying for the registration, the Trade Union did not follow the provisions under Sections 4 and 6 of the Act. The Trade Union ought to have specifically mentioned the name/names of any establishment or nature of any industry/industries in which the persons employed were to be united or combined. In the absence of mentioning the name of industry and non-inclusion of the same in the schedule in the application in the prescribed form is a gross mistake on the part of the Trade Union. Our attention was also drawn to the application submitted by t