2015 Supreme(All) 1568
ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT
BEFORE : PANKAJ MITHAL, J.
V.K. GUPTA ....Petitioner
Versus
PRESIDING OFFICER CENTRAL GOVERNMENT INDUSTRIAL TRIBUNAL AND OTHERS ....Respondents
(Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 33434 of 2015, decided on 22nd December, 2015)
Counsel :
Arun Kumar Gupta for the Petitioner; A.S.G.I, C.D. Pal (In Person), D.K. Gupta and S.C. for the Respondents.
Headnote:Advocates Act, 1961 – Sections 29, 30, 36 and 33 – Advocate – Debarred – An Advocate shall represent the Management before the Tribunal only with the consent of the workmen/union and with the leave of the Court – Petitioner is not in the staff of the Army Base Workshop or part of its Management – Ordinarily cannot be authorised representative of the Management – Tribunal has not permitted Army Base Workshop to engage a lawyer and has not granted any leave to it to be represented by a lawyer especially the petitioner – No lawyer has any right to appear in a particular case and debarring a lawyer from one case does not infringe his right to practise – Petitioner not an aggrieved party. [Paras 24 to 48]
Result; Petition Dismissed.
Hon’ble Pankaj Mithal, J.—The petitioner is an advocate. He is practicing exclusively before Labour and Industrial Tribunal, Kanpur.
2. The petitioner has preferred this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India against the order dated 13.5.2015 passed by the Industrial Tribunal-cum-Labour Court, Kanpur (hereinafter referred to as the Tribunal) by which the application of the worker with regard to one of the prayers has been allowed and he has been debarred from representing the management in Industrial Case No. 16 of 2014, C.D. Pal, General Secretary Mazdoor Union v. Commandant 508 Army Base Workshop, Fort Allahabad.
3. The petitioner has been debarred as he is not an officer of the Army Base Workshop and at the same time had neither the consent of the worker or the Worker’s Union nor the leave of the Court to represent the management in the said case.
4. The Ministry of Labour, Government of India referred a dispute regarding recovery of wages alleged to be paid in excess to the office bearers of the Worker’s Union. The said reference dated 21.1.2014 made under Section 10 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) reads as under :
“Whether the action of the management of 508 Army Base Workshop for recovering the wages already paid to the office bearers of the Union as per annexure 1 against special casual leave already granted is legal and justified? If not, to what relief the concerned workman/union, is entitled to and to what extent?”
5. On reference Industrial Case No. 16 of 2014, C.D. Pal, General Secretary Mazdoor Union v. Commandant 508 Army Base Workshop, Fort Allahabad, was registered. In the said case the Management of the Army Base Workshop on 7.4.2014 authorised the petitioner V.K. Gupta, Advocate (Labour Law Adviser) and Sri A.K. Gupta, Advocate to appear on its behalf vide letter dated 20.3.2014. An application without affidavit was moved on behalf of the Workers Union on 8.4.2015 that the petitioner V.K. Gupta, who is an advocate be restrained from appearing on behalf of Management.
6. The application was opposed by the Management of the Army Base Workshop by filing reply dated 13.5.2015 contending that the petitioner had been representing it in the proceedings for the last one year and cannot be debarred at this stage. The application moved by the Workers Union is not supported by an affidavit and the objection to the petitioner’s appearance raised in the application is highly belated. There is no legal bar for a lawyer to appear as a representative of the Management.
7. It is on consideration of the above objections that the application of the Workers Union has been allowed in part by the impugned order dated 13.5.2015.
8. I have heard Sri Arun Kumar Gupta, learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri C.D. Pal, Secretary General of the Workers Union appearing in person.
9. Sri Gupta argued that the order impugned violates the petitioner’s statutory and fundamental right contained in Sections 29 and 30 of the Advocates Act, 1961 and Article 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution of India respectively and that as Section 36(4) of the Act has been declared to be ultra vires he cannot be debarred from appearing in the above case.
10. Article 246 of the Constitution of India provides that the matters enumerated in list I (Union list) of the Seventh Schedule are legislable exclusively by the Parliament, those in list II (concurrent list) by the Parliament as well as State legislature and those in list III (State list) exclusively by the legislatures of the States.
11. Entry 77 of List I provides for the enactment of law by the Parliament in respect of constitution, organisation, jurisdiction and powers of the Supreme Court (including that of contempt), the fees chargeable and the persons entitle to practice before the Supreme Court.
12. Similarly, Entry 78 of List I provides for the matters in-connection with the constitution, organisation (including vacations) of the High