The reference made by the Government under Section 10(1) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 must have a factual basis and legal relevance to the parties involved in the dispute.

JUDGMENT :

1. This is a writ petition by the petitioner-Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd whereby the petitioner is seeking quashment of SRO 65 of 2002 dated 08.02.2002 issued by the Govt. of Jammu and Kashmir thereby making a reference under Section 10(1) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (in short, ‘Act of 1947’) to the Jammu and Kashmir Industrial Tribunal/Labour Court for adjudication of a purported industrial dispute.

2. The precursor to the issuance of SRO 65 of 2002 is that Soft Drinks and Dairy Products Workers Union Jammu, purportedly acting as a representative of some undisclosed workmen, had petitioned Conciliation Officer under the Act of 1947 questioning a retrenchment notice dated 19.12.1999 issued by the Modern Bottling Company Private Limited, Jammu in terms whereof retrenchment of 103 workers of the said Company was sought to be given effect to.

3. In the Conciliation Proceedings before the Conciliation Officer under the Act of 1947, the petitioner came to be impleaded, along with the Modern Bottling Company Private Limited Jammu, despite its objection that it had nothing to do with the Soft Drinks and Dairy Products Workers Union and the issue of retrenchment of the workmen of the Modern Bottling Company Private Limited, Jammu.

4. The pretext in which the petitioner came to be implicated in the Conciliation Proceedings before the Conciliation Officer under the Act of 1947 by the Soft Drinks and Dairy Products Workers Union, Jammu was that the petitioner had taken over the marketing in respect of the products of the Modern Bottling Company Private Limited and utilization of services of the workmen of the Modern Bottling Company Private Limited, Jammu was by the petitioner.

5. During the course of the conciliation proceedings, it is the Modern Bottling Company Private Limited, Jammu, as being respondent no. 1 in the said proceedings, which came to apprise the Conciliation Officer under the Act of 1947 about the fact that out of its 103 retrenched workmen, whose cause was purportedly being agitated by the Soft Drinks and Dairy Products Workers Union, Jammu, 45 workers have received their full and final payment in lieu of their services.

6. It was projected before the Conciliation Officer by the Soft Drinks and Dairy Products Workers Union, Jammu that as the marketing and sale component of the Modern Bottling Company Private Limited, Jammu has been taken over by the petitioner as such the workmen wanted job security under the employment of the petitioner and for that purpose the petitioner herein was being requested to absorb the workmen of Modern Bottling Company Private Limited, Jammu in a phased manner.

7. The Conciliation Officer under the Act of 1947 reckoned that the dispute of retrenched workmen was remaining only with respect to 58 workmen and for that purpose the petitioner was requested to take initiative with regard to employment of the said workers but since the petitioner declined the said request, as such the Conciliation Officer felt reckoned it to be an industrial dispute and, accordingly, led himself to make a reference to the Government for adjudication of the dispute on the following issues:

(a) Whether the respondent no. 2 i.e., management of Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (P) Ltd., Industrial Extension Area, Gangyal, Jammu was legally right in denying the employment to the petitioners in view of the fact that marketing and sale component has been taken over by it from the respondent no. 1- Management of Modern Bottling Company Private Limited, Jammu?

(b) If not, to what relief, the petitioners are entitled to?

8. The conciliation report dated 10.11.2000 was submitted by the Conciliation Officer to the Government in reference to which it took Government more than one year to come up with the issuance of SRO 65 of 2002 dated 08.02.2002 reckoning it to be an industrial dispute refereable for adjudication under Section 10(1) of the Act of 1947 by the Labour Court in respect to the issues identified