Satish Chandra, J. - (1.) The petitioner is a private limited company. On 23rd August, 1970, a settlement was arrived at between the management of the petitioner company and is workmen in relation to certain disputes between them. On that date there were 56 workmen on the muster roll of the company. One workman was absent. The remaining 55 workmen signed the settlement. It has not been disputed that this settlement was arrived at a time when no conciliation proceedings were pending, and without the intervention of any Conciliation Officer. The management of the petitioner company reduced the settlement in the Prescribed Form No. 1 of the schedule to the Rules framed under the U. P. Industrial Disputes Act and submitted it for registration before the Regional Conciliation Officer, Varanasi. This was done after complying with the requisite formalities of affixing the settlement on the notice board of the company for the prescribed period. On 7th October, 1970, the Regional Conciliation Officer passed an order, which is now impugned, refusing to register the agreement on the ground that the agreement did not comply with the provisions of Rule 5(1) of the U.P. Industrial Disputes Rules, 1957. This order has been challenged in the present writ petition.
(2.) Section 6-B of the U. P. Industrial Disputes Act provides for settlement outside conciliation proceedings. Under sub-section (2) thereof any party to a settlement may apply to the Conciliation Officer of the area concerned in the prescribed manner for registration of the settlement. Under sub-section (3) the Conciliation Officer has either to register the settlement in the prescribed manner or refuse registration if he considers it to be inexpedient to do so on public grounds affecting social justice or if the settlement has been brought about as a result of collusion, fraud or misrepresentation.
(3.) Rule 5 of the U.P. Industrial Disputes Rules, 1957, relates to memorandum of settlement. Sub-rule (1) provides that a settlement arrived at before a Conciliation Officer or otherwise outside the conciliation proceeding shall be in Form 1. Form 1 provides for giving the names and addresses of the parties and the representative of the employer and the workmen. Then it requires a short recital of the case and the terms of the agreement. The agreement has to be witnessed by two persons and has to be signed by the representatives of the employer and the workmen. Below that the form provides for the signature of the Conciliation Officer.;