JUDGMENT - Chagla, C.J.

[1] The petitioner is employed as an omnibus Driver by the Bombay State Road Transport Corporation. He is also the Vice-President of the State Road Transport Kamgar Sabha, and his application is that the State of Bombay should be compelled by a writ of mandamus to refer an existing industrial dispute to a tribunal for adjudication under Section 10, Industrial Disputes Act, XIV [14] of 1947. It would appear that a strike notice was given by some of the workers of the Bombay State Road Transport Corporation and consequent upon the notice conciliation proceedings started under Section 12. A report was made by the Conciliation Officer under s. 12 (4) and Government communicated to the parties concerned their reasons for not making a reference to a Board or a Tribunal under Sub-section (5). The allegation now in the petition is that there is as obligation upon the State to refer this dispute to a Tribunal for adjudication and it is also contended that Government were actuated by mala, fides in not making the reference as they were bound to do in law.

[2] The Bombay State Road Transport Corporation has been declared to be a public utility service and the scheme of t

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