D.N.Sinha, J. - (1.) The facts in this case are shortly as follows: "The Insurance Association of India" is a body corporate which has been brought into existence by virtue of Section 64A of the Insurance Act, 1938 (Central Act IV of 1938) as amended by Act 47 of 1950 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act'). Under that provision, all insurers carrying on insurance business in India at the commencement of the amending Act, 1950, all Insurers who may after such commencement begin to carry on insurance business in India and, if the Central Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, so declares, all provident societies carrying on insurance business in India, have been constituted a body corporate by the name of the Insurance Association of India', (hereinafter referred to as the 'Association') having perpetual succession and a common seal. Under Section 64C of the said Act, there shall be two Councils of the Insurance Association of India, namely, (a) "the Life Insurance Council", consisting of all the members and associate members of the Association who carry on life Insurance business in India and (b) "the General Insurance Council", consisting of all the members and associate members of the Association who carry on general insurance business in India. In this case, we are concerned with the general insurance business and not with the life insurance business. Under Section 64E of the said Act, the work of the General Insurance Council is to be carried on by the Executive Committee, the Tariff Committee and the other Committees thereof, constituted in the manner provided by the said Act Section 64P(1) of the said Act runs as follows: "1. The General Insurance Council may constitute such Regional Councils as and when it deems fit for one or more of the prescribed regions. 2.Each Regional Council shall consist of seven persons elected by such groups of insurers carrying on general Insurance business in the region as may be prescribed. Under Section 64Q of the said Act, the Regional Councils are to perform such functions as may be delegated to them by the General Insurance Council and a Regional Council may in the prescribed manner constitute such committees thereof as it may think fit. It will thus be seen that it is the "Insurance Association of India" that is the statutory body which has been formed and it has the right to sue or be sued. "The General Insurance Council" is only a body that can be formed by the Insurance Association of India for the convenience of carrying out its functions. "The General Insurance Council" may in its turn form a Regional Council and delegate to it, some of its functions. Neither the "General Insurance Council" nor the "Regional Council", have any separate corporate existence of their own. In or about 1958, an industrial dispute arose between the Insurance Association of India (Calcutta Regional Council) and their subordinate staff and it was referred for adjudication to the Second Labour Court, West Bengal. The Issues that were referred for adjudication were as follows: "1. Minimum basic pay fitting in the present employees. 2. Annual increment. 3. Free tiffin or tiffin allowance."
(2.) Before the said Labour Court, a preliminary point of jurisdiction was taken. On behalf of the workmen appearing through their Union, it was contended that the Insurance Association of India was a company which was a statutory body constituted under Section 64P(1) of the said Act and that it employed in Calcutta about 67 workmen of whom 27 were subordinate staff. On the merits It was contended that the Union had placed a charter of demands before the company on 8th April, 1957 but the demands were rejected and all conciliation efforts failed. Thereupon, the said reference was directed for adjudication of the disputes that arose between the parties. On behalf of the Insurance Association of India (Calcutta Regional Council), which was described in the award as, the "Company', it was contended that it was not an "industry" within the meaning of Section 2(i) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and, therefore, there could not be any industrial dispute within the meaning of Section 2(k) of the said Act. It was further contended that according to Section 2(a) of the Industrial Disputes Act, the "appropriate Government" for the purposes of the said Act, in relation to any industrial dispute concerning any industry carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government and an industrial dispute concerning an insurance company was the Central Government. It was argued that since the Association itself is a creation of an Act passed by the Central Legislature, the "appropriate Government" for the purposes of the Industrial Disputes Act was the Central Government, and inasmuch as the order of reference was made by the Government of West Bengal it was void and inoperative for want of jurisdiction. The Labour Court went into this question of jurisdiction and came to certain findings. The first finding was that the "appropriate Government" as contemplated in Section 2(a)(i) of the Industrial Disputes Act was the Central Government. The Labour Court said as follows: "I should hold that this Insurance Association of India (Calcutta Regional Council) is nothing but a species of the genus of All India Insurance Association of India which has been provided in the Insurance Act of 1938, as amended from time to time. It is clear, therefore, that it is a Central subject and an Insurance Company as contemplated in Section 2(a)(1) of the Industrial Disputes Act and here the appropriate Government is the Central Government who has got the jurisdiction to enter into the matter. I am inclined to think further that Government of West Bengal has got no Jurisdiction Into the matter and here by appropriate Government, it does not mean the Local Government of the State. In view of the fact that our State Government has no jurisdiction into the matter, the Labour Court of West Bengal which is a creation of the State Government has automatically no jurisdiction to adjudicate into the matter. ... .It is clear, therefore, beyond doubt, that this Insurance Association of India, Calcutta Regional Council, is a part and parcel of the Central Insurance Association of India as has been provided In the Insurance Act of 1938, as amended from time to time and I see no reason why this should not be the Central subject. There is no amended Act of West Bengal so far as the Insurance Act is concerned and there is no rule for the Insurance Act for the State of West Bengal. It is a Central Act and a Central subject out and out and Calcutta Regional Council is a part of the All India Insurance Association.... Insurance Association of India, Calcutta Regional Council, is included in the Insurance Association of India as has been provided for in the Insurance Act of 1938 and is a Central subject within the meaning of Section 2(a)(i) of the Industrial Disputes Act. It is the Central body who regulates the Insurance business as has been provided under Section 64A, B, C, D, E, F and Q which definitely say that Regional Council shall perform such function as may be delegated to them by the General Insurance Council. I should, therefore, think that the appropriate Government under the Industrial Disputes Act is the Central Government and the State Government has no jurisdiction into the matter and for the matter of that, this Labour Court has got no jurisdiction to adjudicate into the matter".
(3.) The Labour Court having decided that it had no jurisdiction, did not adjudicate upon the Issues referred to it.;