Industrial Tribunal composition must follow statutory notification strictly; awards made without fresh constitution were void for lack of jurisdiction.

Strict compliance with the statutory scheme for constituting an Industrial Tribunal was required, because the Tribunal had to be notified with named members and function as a joint body. Section 8 was limited to filling vacancies by substitute appointment and did not permit the remaining members to act as a valid Tribunal after one member's services ceased, absent a fresh notification. The absence of any express vacancy-saving provision was decisive. Awards made by two members during the vacancy, and the later award signed after the absent member rejoined without fresh constitution, were without jurisdiction and therefore invalid.

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Issues: Whether the Industrial Tribunal was validly constituted and had jurisdiction to make awards when one member's services ceased to be available, and whether the member could rejoin and participate again without a fresh constitution under the Act.

Analysis: The majority held that section 7 required the Tribunal to be constituted by notification with the number and names of the members, and that the Tribunal's function was a joint one under sections 15 and 16. It further held that section 8 dealt only with filling vacancies and reconstitution upon appointment of a substitute, and did not authorize the remaining members to proceed as a Tribunal without a fresh notification when the Government decided not to fill the vacancy. The absence of an express provision like sections 5(4) and 6(3) for proceeding despite vacancy was treated as significant, and the awards made by the two members during the vacancy, as well as the final award signed after the absent member rejoined without fresh constitution, were held to be without jurisdiction.

Conclusion: The awards were invalid for want of jurisdiction and the appellants succeeded.

Final Conclusion: The decision turned on strict compliance with the statutory scheme governing the constitution and functioning of an Industrial Tribunal, and non-compliance with that scheme deprived the awards of legal effect.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statute requires a tribunal to be constituted by named members and does not authorize it to act through a reduced composition in the absence of an express vacancy-saving provision, proceedings conducted and awards made without a fresh valid constitution are without jurisdiction.

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