The court upheld the validity of the Shillong Municipal Board (Gratuity) Rules, 1980, dismissing the petition as res judicata and confirming that unregistered unions cannot file writ petitions for service benefits.

ORDER

(Made by Hon’ble, the Chief Justice)

The present writ petition has been filed for the following prayer.

“In the premises aforesaid it is most respectfully prayed that your Lordship would be graciously pleased to issue Rule, call for the record and after hearing the parties be pleased (i) to direct the Respondent No.2 to comply with its order passed on 19.01.2021 and provide the payment of gratuity to the Shillong Municipal Employees under section 4(5) of the Payment of Gratuity Act 1972 and (ii) to direct immediate payment of Gratuity to the retired employees of the Shillong Municipal Board and to the next of kin of the deceased employees.

(iii) to quash the Shillong Municipal Board (Gratuity) Rules, 1980.

(iv) to direct the Respondent No.2 to make reimbursement of medical bills to the Municipal employees.

And to pass any order/orders as your Lordship deem fit and proper.

And for which act of kindness your humble petitioners shall every pray.”

2. As the Shillong Municipal Board (Gratuity) Rules, 1980 is challenged, the writ petition is listed before Division Bench. The case of the petitioner is that the petitioner’s Union is registered with the Registrar of Society, Shillong and is affiliated to the Indian National Trade Union Congress bearing registration No.63/1986. According to the petitioner, the workers through all Assam Civic Bodies Workers’ Federation raised an industrial dispute when it was in the composite State of Assam and the dispute was referred to the Industrial Tribunal at Guwahati for adjudication and the same was taken up for hearing as Reference No.21 of 1969. The following issues were referred for adjudication:

“(i) Whether the pay scale of the Municipal Employees should be brought at par with the Government employees?

(ii) Whether the Municipal employees are entitled to Gratuity at the rate of one month’s pay on the basis of last pay drawn for each complete year of services with immediate effect?

(iii) Whether the Rule governing the services of the Government employees should be made applicable to the Municipal employees?

(iv) Whether medical facilities and other facilities as available to the State Government employees should be granted to the civic employees?”

3. During the pendency of the dispute before the Tribunal, there was a settlement arrived at between the parties with regard to all the issues that were referred to for adjudication including gratuity, the Tribunal had rendered an award on 23.08.1971 which was published in the Assam Gazette on 01.09.1971. While passing an award, the Tribunal has recorded the settlement in the award and for the sake of convenience, the gratuity payable to the employee is based on one month’s pay on the basis of last drawn pay should be granted for each completed year of service and the relevant clause is extracted below:

“2. Gratuity at the rate of one month’s pay on the basis of last pay drawn should be granted for each completed year of service with immediate effect.”

4. According to the petitioner, once a Tribunal has passed an award which was published in the Gazette on 01.09.1971, it has come into effect in terms of Section 17 and Section 17 A of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 . Section 17 and Section 17 A of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 are extracted below:

“17. Publication of reports and awards.–

(1) Every report of a Board or Court together with any minute of dissent recorded therewith, every arbitration award and every award of a Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal shall, within a period of thirty days from the date of its receipt by the appropriate Government, be published in such manner as the appropriate Government thinks fit.

(2) Subject to the provisions of section 17A, the award published under sub-section (1) shall be final and shall not be called in question by any Court in any manner whatsoever.

“17A. Commencement of the award.–(1) An award (including an arbitration award) shall become enforceable on the expiry of thirty days from the date