SMALL SCALE BEE-HIVE HARD COKE PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION Vs. GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner No. 1, which is a voluntary association of the Small Scale-Bee-Hive Hard Coke Producers Association having its registered office located in the area of Nirsa and Chirkunda and a society registered under the Societies Registration Act and petitioner No. 2, a company registered under the Indian Companies Act, having its registered office at Calcutta, which carries on business of manufacturing hard-coke by bee-hive oven at Nirsa Chowk, have moved this court under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India for a writ in the nature of certiorari to quash the orders passed by respondents Nos. 2 and 3, as contained in Annexures 3 and 6 and consequently a writ in the nature of mandamus restraining the respondents from enforcing the provisions of the Coal Mines Provident Fund and Bonus Schemes Act, 1948, hereinafter referred to as the Act, as amended from time to time.

(2.) According to the petitioners, Bee-hive ovens for manufacturing hard-coke are not covered by the definition of a 'coal mine' under the Act and that respondents 2 and 3 have wrongly extended the provisions thereof to them. According to the respondents it cannot be said that Bee-hive coke oven used for manufacturing hard-coke is not a coke oven as defined in Section 2 (b) (xii) of the Act and as such a coal mine.

(3.) There are many facts stated in the writ application and in the counter-affidavit, which do not appear to be of any serious consequence except the statement in paragraph 10 of the writ petition in which the petitioners have said that none of the hard-coke manufacturers own any coal mine or have any coal mining lease or having any capacity to carry the work of coal mine, which fact is not disputed by the respondents.