Certified standing orders prevail over conflicting service contract terms and bind the employment relationship as statutory rules.

Certified standing orders under the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 operate as statutory terms of employment binding on both employer and workmen. Because the Act creates a mandatory scheme for certification, modification, publication, enforcement, and dispute resolution, parties cannot bypass it through a private service contract on matters covered by the standing orders. A contractual term inconsistent with certified standing orders is ineffective, and such a bargain was also treated as falling within Section 23 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872. The HC therefore held that the standing orders prevail over the conflicting contract term.

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Issues: Whether, in the event of a conflict between a contract of service and the certified standing orders of an industrial establishment, the standing orders prevail.

Analysis: The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 was construed as creating a statutory scheme under which standing orders, once certified, define the basic and general terms of employment for the industrial establishment. The provisions relating to application of the Act, certification, modification, registration, publication, evidentiary exclusion, enforcement, penalties, and dispute resolution showed that the standing orders were intended to operate as binding rules governing employer and workmen alike. The scheme did not permit the parties to bypass the statutory procedure by entering into a private contract inconsistent with matters expressly covered by the standing orders. The Court treated such orders as having a binding legal force comparable to subordinate legislation and held that freedom of contract could not defeat the statutory scheme. A private agreement contrary to the standing orders was also viewed as falling within the mischief of Section 23 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872.

Conclusion: The standing orders prevail over any conflicting term in the contract of service, and the conflicting contractual term is ineffective.

Final Conclusion: The reference was answered in favour of the employee, and the statutory standing orders were held to govern the employment relationship where inconsistency with a private contract exists.

Ratio Decidendi: Certified standing orders made under the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 bind the employer and employees as statutory terms of employment and cannot be overridden by a private contract inconsistent with them.

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