S. K. Das, J. - (1.) The Punjab National Bank Ltd. is the appellant before us. Shorn of all details not necessary for our purpose, the facts are these. By its Order No. LR-100(98) dated September 2, 1953, the Government of India, Ministry of labour, appointed Shri Ram Kanwar, respondent No. 1, as the Industrial Tribunal for the adjudication of a dispute which had arisen between the appellant and its workmen in respect of the following matter. "Absorption of Bharat Bank employees in the Punjab National Bank Ltd., and their service conditions". On April 17, 1954, in the course of certain preliminary proceedings before respondent No. 1, an application was made on behalf of the All India Punjab National Bank Employees' Federation, in which it was stated that a number of other Unions were involved in the dispute in question, because the appellant had branches all over in India and there were several Unions of its employees at those branches. It was further stated in the application that some of those Unions had submitted their statements when the dispute in question was referred to the Industrial Tribunal, Bombay, with Shri Panchapagesa Shastri as its sole member and Chairman; that Tribunal did not, however, function as Shri Panchapagesa Shastri was appointed a member of the Labour Appellate Tribunal of India. Two substantial prayers were made in the application of April 17, 1954; one was that due publicity of the adjudication proceedings should be given by issuing notices to all those Unions to participate in the proceedings, and the second prayer was that an order should be made directing the appellant to pay travelling and halting allowances to the representatives of the various Unions so as to enable the latter to send their representatives to Delhi, the place where the adjudication proceedings were pending. A list of fourteen Unions and organisations was given along with the application, with the number of representatives which each union or organisation wished to send.
(2.) In the present appeal we are concerned only with the second prayer made in the aforesaid application, and the order which respondent No. 1 made with regard to that prayer, being the order impugned before us, was in these terms: "The management objects to the grant of any T. A. or Halting allowances to the representatives of the Unions. It is, no doubt, correct that there it no provision of law on this point in favour of the representatives, but the general practice of various Tribunals has all along been to allow reasonable T.A. and halting allowance to the representatives of the Unions, specially in Bank cases. It is, therefore, ordered that the representatives of the Unions, who put in appearance in the Tribunal from stations outside Delhi, shall be paid 2 1/2 second class railway fares to and from Delhi, plus Rs. 10 per day as halting allowance by the management of the Bank. ********** The Bank is also requested to direct its respective branches to pay travelling and halting allowances in advance to the employees who inter to come to Court as representatives".
(3.) It may be stated here that out of the fourte Unions and organisations which wanted to see their representatives to take part in the adjudication proceedings, two have their offices in Delhi Respondent No. 1 directed the payment of travelling and halting allowances to the representatives of the remaining twelve Unions and organisation and fixed the number of representatives to be sent by each Union or organisation.;