( 1 ) THE facts in this case are shortly as follows : The respondent No. 2, Messrs. Backwood Hodge (India) Private Limited is a company incorporated under the Indian Companies Act. The petitioner and the respondents Nos. 5 and 6 are the Trustees appointed under an Indenture of Trust relating to the start provident fund of the company. By an order dated 3rd August, 1959 made under Section 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 the Government referred an industrial dispute existing between the company and their workmen represented by Blackwood Hodge Employees' Welfare Union, being the respondent No. 2 herein, to the adjudication of the Second Industrial Tribunal, Calcutta. The dispute, as set out in the schedule of the order (annexure "a" to the petition) relates to the amendment of the Provident Fund Rules. The Provident Fund Rules are contained in an Indenture dated 23rd May, 1953 being the Trust Deed, containing also rules and regulations relating to the provident fund. Under clause 4 of the said Indenture, the Trustees may, with the consent in writing of the employer and shall, it so desired by the employer, alter, vary, modify, remake, rescind, add to, or cancel any of the provisions of the Indenture or the rules, provided however that so long as the Provident Fund shall be a recognised Provident Fund under the provisions of the Indian Income Tax Act, 1922 or any modification thereof, the power contained in the said clause shall not be exercised without the previous consent of the Commissioner of Income-tax having jurisdiction over the Fund. The company filed its written statement on or about the 11th July, 1959 taking the point that the order of reference was bad in law as the Trustees were not made parties and as such the Tribunal had no jurisdiction to adjudicate upon the alleged order of reference. Subsequently, an additional written statement was filed by the company disclosing the names of the Trustees and stating that there was no relationship of employer and employee between the Trustees and the workmen and also reiterating the objection that the Trustees were not parties to the alleged order of reference. On the 22nd September, 1959 an application was filed on behalf of the Union stating that the Board of Trustees should be made necessary and proper parties inasmuch as the members of the Board were interested in the result of the adjudication and that unless they were added as parties to the dispute the effectual administration of the Provident Fund Institution will not be possible and practicable and the results of the adjudication will be inoperative and infructuous. It was, therefore, prayed that the members of the Board of Trustees should be "summoned to appear in the proceedings as parties to the dispute under Section 18 (2) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947". On the very same day, the company appeared and stated that it had objection to this prayer and a written objection would be filed. The company thereafter filed its objection and the Tribunal made an order on the 24th December 1959. A copy of the said order is annexure "b" to the petition. The Tribunal in its judgment states that two questions arise in the application, the first being as to whether the Tribunal had power under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 to add new parties to the proceedings and the second point is whether the Trustees should be added as parties to the proceeding. The Tribunal considered Sub-section (3) of Section 18 of the Industrial Disputes Act and came to the conclusion, following two Madras Cases which I shall presently notice, that apart from the parties to the industrial dispute as mentioned in the order of reference, the Tribunal could summon other parties to appear in the proceedings as parties to the dispute and that this, by necessary implication, confers power upon the Tribunal to add new parties to the dispute. It was further held that new parties so added need not include only employers and employees. A party can b

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