The main legal point established in the judgment is the requirement to prove that a private body was established to achieve a collective benefit for the public and was accepted by the public as having authority to do so in order to seek a writ of mandamus against it.

ORDER :

1. All these petitions are filed claiming same relief by different petitioners, but the issue involved in these petitions is one and the same. Therefore, I am of the view that it is appropriate to decide all the petitions by common order taking Writ Petition No.15762 of 2017 as leading petition.

2. W.P. No.15762 of 2017 came to be filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking the following relief:-

“….to issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate Writ, Order or Orders, Direction or Directions to declare the action of the 4th respondent in dispensing with the service of the petitioners vide letters dated 17.03.2016 and 31.05.2016 with effect from 30.06.2016 without observing the provisions of Section 25F of the I.D. Act, 1947 as illegal, void and unsustainable and to issue a consequential direction to the 4th respondent to act in accordance with law and pass...”

3. The brief facts of the case are that the Visakhapatnam Port Trust – respondent No.2 herein, is a statutory body incorporated under the Major Port Trust Act and that the Cargo Handling Division – respondent No.3 herein, which was previously known as Visakhapatnam Dock Labour Board functioning under Dock Workers (for short “VDLB”) functioning under Dock Workers (Regulation of Employment) Act, 1948. The said Statute was repealed in the year 2010 and the Dock Labour Board was merged in respondent No.2’s organization, but is called as Cargo Handling Division. There was a Registered Scheme of 1959 and an unregistered scheme of 1968 in VDLB, through which the workers were engaged for the operations on the ships. Whenever the Stevedoring Companies place indents on the DLB for clearing the ships, the DLB will engage its workers for the said purpose.

4. While so, after the Thermal Coal Handling Operations in the Visakhapatnam Port is introduced in the year 1985, the requirement of labour has increased tremendously. To overcome the situation, VDLB has sought permission of respondent No.1 herein to engage private labour, for which permission has been accorded to VDLB vide letter dated 06.03.1985, to engage private labour to the extent of short supply of Dock Labour Board (for short “DLB”), subject to the condition that the private labour shall be engaged only after the entire available labour of DLB are engaged. After receipt of said permission, the engagement of private labour in the works of VDLB was started. Thereafter, in May, 1992, the Trade Unions in VDLB have gone on strike, demanding the employment of the children of the deceased employees and medically unfit employees, which has resulted in a settlement entered between the Trade Union, the Stevedoring Companies and the Visakhapatnam Clearing and Forwarding Agents. In the said settlement, it was agreed that a system of streamlining the procedure of employment of private labour would be evolved, but, however, the same could not be implemented immediately. But, in June, 1993, it was agreed to form a pool for regulating the employment of the private labour. As such, the Cargo Handling Private Workers Pool – respondent No.4 herein, has come into existence on 24.12.1993, with the following objects:

(a) To identify, enroll and allot work and regulate the private workers engaged by the members and users of Stevedors Association and Visakhapatnam Clearing & Forwarding Agents Association of Visakhapatnam only against short supply labour of the VDLB.

(b) Through jointly promote the welfare of the workers and who are identified and enrolled in the Trust.

(c) To utilize the funs of the Trust for the above purpose and also for other charitable purposes such as Education, Health, Sports and Elevation of sufferings of the poor and the needy, etc.

(d) To carry out the public utility activities within the meaning of charitable purposes as defined in the Income Tax Act.

5. Respondent No.4 Pool was established on 19.01.1994 as a public trust by the Visakhapatnam Stevedors Association and Visakhapatnam Clearing a