Karnataka High Court
Judges : Rama Jois
IDEAL JAWA EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION - Appellant
Versus
UMESH - Respondent
W. P. 12190 Of 1984
Decided On : 11/16/1984
Advocates Appeared :
D.LEELA KRISHNA, M.C.NARASIMHAN, N.DEVA DAS, R.N.NARASIMHA MURTHY, S.B.SWETHADRI
Election - Trade Union - Trade Union Act - Rule XI (3), Rule 7, Rule XVIII (d) - The court discussed the validity of the notice of election challenged by the Petitioner, the grounds for challenge, and the stand taken by the contesting respondents. The court also addressed the maintainability of the Petition, the nature of the rules and their enforcement, and the exercise of statutory powers by the Returning Officer. The judgment of the Supreme Court and the decision in The Hindustan Machine Tools Karmika Sangha -v.- The commissioner of Labour were considered in reaching the decision.
Fact of the Case:
The Ideal Jawa Employees' Association challenged the Calendar of Events issued for holding the election of office-bearers and members of the Executive Committee of the Association. The dispute arose from the requisition served on the President for a special general meeting to express 'no Confidence' and the subsequent resolution removing the President from office.
Finding of the Court:
The court rejected the Petition, holding that the Writ Petition was not maintainable and that the rules framed by the trade-union had no statutory force. The court also declined to express any opinion on the liberty of the Returning Officer to continue the calendar of events.
Issues: The issues included the validity of the notice of election, the grounds for challenge, the maintainability of the Petition, and the nature of the rules and their enforcement.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the rules framed by the trade-union had no statutory force and therefore the Writ Petition was not maintainable. The court also emphasized that the exercise of statutory powers by the Returning Officer was not applicable in this case.
Final Decision: The Petition was rejected, leaving all other contentions of both parties open.
( 1 ) THE Ideal Jawa Employees' Association, Mysore, represented by its President, has presented this Petition questioning the Calendar of Events dated 10-7-i984 Annexure-D) issued by the returning Officer and Assistant Commissioner, Mysore Subdivision, for the purpose of holding the election of office-bearers and members of the Executive Committee of the Ideal Java employees' Association Mysore.
( 2 ) THE facts of the case, in brief, are as follows : The Ideal Jawa Employees' Association is a tradeunion registered under the Trade Union Act. For the purpose of holding the election of office-bearers of the tradeunion it has adopted the Model Election Rules framed by the State government under the provisions of the Trade Unions Act. In addition, the Trade Union has also framed its own additional Rules. Copy of it is produced as Annexure-A to the Petition. In accordance with the Rules framed by the Petitioner-union, election of office-bearers consisting of a President, Vice-President, Secretary. Two Additional Secretaries, a Treasurer and 16 members was held on 18-3-1983. Shri A. K. Subbaiah was elected as President of the Union along with other officer-bearers. According to Rule XI (3) of the Rules Vide Annexure-A, the term of office bearers is two years' Rule 7 of the Rules prescribes the procedure for removal of office bearers elected at an election. According to the said rule read with Rule XV111 (d), if a requisition signed by not less than 14th of the members of the Association, is given requesting the President to convene a special general meeting for the purpose of moving 'no Confidence' against him or any other office-bearers, he is required to convene a special meeting as requested. If the President fails to convene the meeting as requested, Rule XVIII (d) of the Rules provides that any other office-bearer could convene the meeting. The resolution could be passed if at least fifty per cent of the members are present and two-thirds of them vote in favour of the resolution. A requisition is said to have been served on. the President on 16-5-I984 requesting him to convene a special general meeting for the purpose of expressing 'no Confidence' in him within two weeks. But shortly thereafter on 20-5-1984, a general body meeting is said to have been held, a resolution is said to have been passed removing Sri A. K. Subbaiah from the office of the president. Thereafter, the impugned calendar of events has been issued by the Assistant commissioner for the purpose of holding fresh election of office-bearers of the Union on 10-7-1984, as he was nominated as the Returning Officer by the Commissioner of Labour, who is said to have been requested by the Association for holding a fresh election. It is the validity of the said notice, which has been challenged by the Petitioner in this Writ Petition.
( 3 ) THE grounds on which the notice of election has been challenged by the Petitioner are as follows :
(i) The office-bearers elected on 18-3-I983 had a right to continue till 18-3-1985, as the term of their office was two years. The requisition which was served on the President on 16-5-19 (sic)4 was signed by only 26 members of the Association though the membership of the Association was 2200 and therefore the requisition ought to have been signed at least by 550 members and as the same had not been done, the requisition itself was invalid.
(ii) Alternatively, even according to the requisition if only the Presented failed to convene a meeting within the stipulated time, thereafter any other office-bearer could have proceeded to convene a special general meeting, and as the meeting itself is said to have been held on 20-5-1984, the meeting was invalid and therefore the office-bearers elected on 18-3-1983 did not, by virtue of that resolution, lose the right to continue in office and therefore the holding of an election even when their tenure of office was still continuing was invalid.
( 4 ) AS against the above pleas of
Login now and unlock free premium legal research
Login to SupremeToday AI and access free legal analysis, AI highlights, and smart tools.
Login
now!
India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!
Copyright © 2023 Vikas Info Solution Pvt Ltd. All Rights Reserved.