- (1.) Challenge in this appeal is to the judgment of a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court upholding the view of a learned Single Judge that once the review application in terms of Section 25-N(6) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (in short the 'Act') is rejected, the appropriate Government/specified authority is not precluded from making a reference for adjudication under the said provision.
(2.) Background facts in a nutshell are as follows: The appellant company was established in 1957 for the manufacture of high voltage electric cables and wires. The company has manufacturing units at Borivli and Nasik. In the present case we are concerned with the Company's unit at Borivli. The company made an application in terms of Section 25-N(2) to the Specified Authority on 16.1.2003 to retrench 280 workmen out of 509 workmen working at its Borivli Unit. The Specified Authority, after giving an opportunity of being heard to the company, workmen and other interested persons, including workers unions and after conducting an inquiry, by a reasoned order dated 29.4.2003 partly allowed the application preferred by the company by granting permission to retrench 276 workmen out of 509 workmen on conditions mentioned in the order. The correctness of that decision was put in issue by the workers unions, the respondent Nos. 2 and 3 herein by filing applications under Section 25-N(6) of the Act for review of the decision or to refer the matter for adjudication. By an order dated 9.7.2003 the applications preferred by the Unions were rejected on the ground that such applications could be preferred only by workmen whereas the same have been made by the Unions. Besides, it was observed that no new point was raised in the review proceedings which warranted fresh examination. Accordingly, both the applications for review/reference came to be rejected. The aforesaid order of the Specified Authority was challenged through Writ Petition No. 1947 of 2003 by the 2nd respondent-union, which came to be partly allowed by the learned Single Judge, vide order dated 2.8.2004. The learned Single Judge held that finding of the Specified Authority that unions had no locus as all the aggrieved workmen were not made parties to the application was contrary to law laid down by this Court in Mumbai Kamgar Sabha, Bombay v. M/s Abdulbhai Faizullabhai and Ors. (AIR 1976 SC 1455). The learned Single Judge further held that the right of review is possible only on limited grounds and since no new points have been raised by the unions, the prayer for review was rightly rejected. The learned Single Judge relying upon the judgment of a Division Bench of Gujarat High Court in Rajya General Kamgar Mandal and Ors. v. Vice President, Packart Press Div. Ambalal Sarabhai Enterprises, Baroda and Ors. (1995 II CLR 613) further held that merely because review application is rejected, reference cannot be said to be barred under Section 25-N(6) of the Act and, accordingly, directed the specified authority to refer the matter for adjudication to the Industrial Tribunal in accordance with Section 25-N(6) of the Act. Stand of the appellant both before the learned Single Judge and the Division Bench was that once the review application is disposed of, there is no scope for further making a reference in view of the clear language of Section 25-N(6) which provides for the alternatives and does not empower a reference after the review petition is rejected. Both learned Single Judge and the Division Bench held to the contrary.
(3.) Learned counsel for the appellant submitted that both learned Single Judge and the Division Bench lost sight of the fact that the language of the provision is very clear and the determinative expression used is "or". It is submitted that if the view of the learned Single Judge and the Division Bench is accepted it would mean substitution of the word 'and' for 'or'.;