1978 (8) TMI 227 - SC - Indian Laws

Supreme Court upholds special law on employment conditions, validates retirement age regulation.

The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act is a special law regarding the conditions of service ... Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act as a special enactment governing conditions of service of workmen in industrial establishments - Generalia specialibus non derogant - general regulatory power yielding to a later special statute on the same subject - Regulations made under Section 79(c) of the Electricity (Supply) Act as delegated/subordinate legislation - Section 13 B exclusion by notification - scope and effect - Certification of Standing Orders and quasi judicial scrutiny of fairness and reasonableness - Directive Principles (Arts. 42 and 43) as interpretive aids in labour welfare legislationIndustrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act as a special enactment governing conditions of service of workmen in industrial establishments - Certification of Standing Orders and quasi judicial scrutiny of fairness and reasonableness - Applicability of the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act to industrial establishments of the State Electricity Board - HELD THAT: - The Court held that the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act is a special Act designed to define and secure precise conditions of employment for workmen in industrial establishments, mandating employers to submit draft Standing Orders for certification and subjecting those orders to quasi judicial scrutiny for fairness and reasonableness. Applying the statutory scheme and legislative history, the Court affirmed that the Act applies to the industrial establishments of the State Electricity Board and governs matters enumerated in the schedule unless displaced by the limited exclusions provided in the Act itself.The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act applies to the State Electricity Board's industrial establishments.Generalia specialibus non derogant - general regulatory power yielding to a later special statute on the same subject - Regulations made under Section 79(c) of the Electricity (Supply) Act as delegated/subordinate legislation - Whether regulations made by the State Electricity Board under Section 79(c) of the Electricity (Supply) Act override or supersede matters covered by the Standing Orders Act - HELD THAT: - The Court applied the principle that a general provision does not derogate from a special statute dealing with the same subject. Although regulations under Section 79(c) are delegated legislation with the force of law, Section 79(c) is an incidental, general power in the Electricity Supply Act concerned primarily with electricity development, not a code for conditions of service. The Standing Orders Act is a special statute exclusively addressing the listed service matters; therefore regulations under Section 79(c) cannot displace the Standing Orders Act in respect of matters enumerated in the schedule.Regulations under Section 79(c) do not prevail over the Standing Orders Act on matters covered by the latter.Section 13 B exclusion by notification - scope and effect - Regulations made under Section 79(c) of the Electricity (Supply) Act as delegated/subordinate legislation - Scope and effect of Section 13 B: whether notification under Section 13 B excludes the Standing Orders Act only for Government servants or more broadly, and the extent of exclusion - HELD THAT: - The Court rejected a narrow ejusdem generis reading limiting Section 13 B to Government servants. The specific rules mentioned in Section 13 B share the characteristic of being statutory rules governing persons with statutory status; 'any other rules or regulations' must be read to cover subordinate legislation made under a relevant statute. The proper construction is that a notification under Section 13 B excludes the Standing Orders Act only to the extent that the notified rule or regulation covers the particular field; it does not produce a wholesale exclusion of the Act for all schedule matters merely by notifying a single rule. Thus notification removes the Act's applicability to the field covered by the notified rule/regulation, and not beyond.Section 13 B applies to workmen governed by statutory rules/regulations and a notification under Section 13 B excludes the Standing Orders Act only to the extent covered by the notified rule or regulation.Section 13 B exclusion by notification - scope and effect - Regulations made under Section 79(c) of the Electricity (Supply) Act as delegated/subordinate legislation - Validity of the U.P. State Electricity Board regulation on age of compulsory retirement as applied to the two workmen - HELD THAT: - The Court found on the record that the Board had made the regulation and the Government had applied its mind in notifying it under Section 13 B. Given the construction that a valid notification under Section 13 B removes the Standing Orders Act's applicability to the field covered by the notified regulation, the Board's notified regulation on age of superannuation operates notwithstanding that age of superannuation is a matter which could otherwise fall within the Standing Orders Act. Consequently the retirements effected at the notified age were lawful.The government notified regulation fixing compulsory retirement age is operative and the respondents were validly retired on attaining that age.Final Conclusion: The appeal is allowed. The Standing Orders Act governs conditions of service in the Board's industrial establishments, but regulations of the Board on matters otherwise covered by that Act are ineffective unless the Government notifies them under Section 13 B or they are certified under the Standing Orders Act; the specific regulation on retirement age having been duly made and notified, the retirements were valid and the High Court writ is dismissed. Issues Involved:1. Applicability of the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 to the industrial establishments of the State Electricity Board.2. Continuation of Standing Orders after the purchase of an undertaking by the Board or the framing of regulations under Section 79(c) of the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948.3. Applicability of Section 13-B of the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 to industrial establishments other than those of the government.Issue-wise Detailed Analysis:1. Applicability of the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 to the industrial establishments of the State Electricity Board:The Full Bench of the High Court held that the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 applies to the industrial establishments of the State Electricity Board. This was not contested by the appellant in the Supreme Court. The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act is a special act designed to define and secure reasonable conditions of service for workmen in industrial establishments employing one hundred or more workmen. It mandates employers to make Standing Orders and get them certified by a quasi-judicial authority. The Supreme Court affirmed this view, emphasizing that the Act is specially designed to define the terms of employment of workmen in industrial establishments and to give them a collective voice in defining these terms.2. Continuation of Standing Orders after the purchase of an undertaking by the Board or the framing of regulations under Section 79(c) of the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948:The Full Bench held that the Standing Orders framed for an industrial establishment by an electrical undertaking do not cease to be operative on the purchase of the undertaking by the Board or the framing of regulations under Section 79(c) of the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948. The Supreme Court agreed with this view, stating that the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, being a special act dealing with the specific subject of conditions of service of workmen in industrial establishments, prevails over the general provisions of the Electricity (Supply) Act. The Court emphasized that the general rule 'Generalia specialibus non derogant' (general provisions do not derogate from special provisions) applies here, meaning that the specific provisions of the Standing Orders Act take precedence over the general provisions of the Electricity (Supply) Act.3. Applicability of Section 13-B of the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 to industrial establishments other than those of the government:The Full Bench held that Section 13-B of the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 applies only to the industrial establishments of the government and not to other establishments. The Supreme Court disagreed with this interpretation. Section 13-B states that the Act does not apply to industrial establishments where the workmen are governed by specific rules or regulations notified by the appropriate government. The Supreme Court clarified that the expression 'any other rules or regulations' in Section 13-B should not be narrowly construed to mean only government servants. The Court held that the regulation made by the U.P. State Electricity Board regarding the age of superannuation, having been duly notified by the government, is valid and applicable. The Court concluded that the respondents were properly retired upon attaining the age of 58 years as per the notified regulation.Conclusion:The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act is a special law regarding the conditions of service enumerated in the schedule, and the regulations made by the Electricity Board with respect to any of those matters are of no effect unless notified by the government under Section 13-B or certified by the Certifying Officer under Section 5 of the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act. The regulation regarding the age of superannuation made by the Board and notified by the government was held to be valid, and the respondents were properly retired at the age of 58 years. The writ petition filed in the High Court was dismissed, and the appellants were awarded costs of Rs. 3,500/- to be paid to the respondents.