THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE NOOTY RAMAMOHANA RAO WRIT PETITION No. 22757 OF 2011 O R D E R: This Writ Petition has been instituted by an individual, who claims to be a member of All India ST/SC Railway Employees’ Association, seeking a writ of certiorari, questioning the orders passed on 09.08.2010 by the Senior Divisional Personnel Officer, South Central Railway, Guntakal Division, circulating a list of office bearers of the said Association amongst other offices of the South Central Railways. It appears, Zonal President and Zonal Secretary of the aforementioned Association have forwarded a list of Divisional Executive Committee members to the Personnel Branch of the Railway Divisional Office at Guntakal. The Senior Divisional Personnel Officer, in turn, has circulated the said list of office bearers to various other offices of the Railways. Learned counsel for the writ petitioner, Sri M. Venkanna, would submit that the petitioner was a former President of the Association and the 6th respondent General Secretary of the said Association, without even conducting elections, has circulated a list of office bearers to the Divisional Personnel Office and the Senior Divisional Personnel Officer, without verifying as to whether the elections have been conducted in accordance with the byelaws framed by the said Association or not, has literally accorded approval to the list of office bearers circulated by the said 6th respondent General Secretary of the Association. The learned counsel would further submit that the byelaws framed by the said Association have, in fact, been circulated earlier to the Railway Board and the Railway Board, in turn, circulated the same to various offices including the office of the Divisional Railway Manager and therefore, any action contrary to the said byelaws taken must be declared as illegal and invalid. I am afraid, that these contentions do not hold any water. Byelaws of an Association lack sanctity of law, inasmuch as they are not made pursuant to any statutory provision. Byelaws lack enforceability also. Byelaws are framed by an Association to regulate their own conduct and business. It is not for the Railways, the principal employer, to verify as to whether the byelaws framed by an Association have been faithfully complied with or not. It is one aspect of the matter to say that the office bearers of a particular Association are recognized as such, for purposes of according certain benefits to them, to enable the trade union activities to be pursued by them, without any hindrance or let to their work per se and it is altogether a different thing to say that the internal affairs of such an Association should be interdicted by the principal employer. To my mind, the Railways cannot have any power whatsoever to regulate the internal affairs of an Association. If the petitioner has a grievance against breach of byelaws by the Association, his remedy lies elsewhere and not under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. I therefore, dismiss this Writ Petition at the admission stage, after hearing Sri R.S. Murthy, learned Standing Counsel for Railways. No costs. ---------------------------------- (NOOTY RAMAMOHANA RAO, J) 11th August 2011 ksld