1 W.P.No.5194.10 Bsb IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 5194 OF 2010 Mumbai Mahanagarpalika Karyalayeen Karmachari Sanghatana ... Petitioner v/s 1. Bombay Fire Fighters Services Union 2. Bombay Fire Services Union 3. Municipal Corpn. Of Gr. Mumbai 4. Shri B.C.Chandrakapure, Member Industrial Court, Mumbai. ... Respondents Mr.Prakash S. Devdas for the petitioner. Mrs.Neeta P. Karnik for respondent No.2. CORAM: SMT.NISHITA MHATRE, J. DATED: 26TH JULY, 2010 P.C.: 1. The Industrial Court has, by the impugned order, rejected the application filed by the petitioner Union to be impleaded as a co-complainant in Complaint (ULP) No.430 of 2001. The complaint has been filed by the two unions, namely, respondent Nos.1 and 2 against the Corporation and its officers for seeking reliefs. The petitioner claims that the employees who are the members of the 1st and 2nd 2 W.P.No.5194.10 respondents who are working in the Fire Brigade Department have now joined the petitioner union and, therefore, it should be impleaded as a party complainant in the complaint. The Industrial Court has rightly refused the application. 2. In my view, if at all the petitioner is right in its contention that the workers are now its members, it would always be open for it to agitate the grievance of the workers de hors the pending complaint. There is therefore no need to join the petitioner as a co-complainant in the pending complaint. 3. However, the grievance of the learned advocate for the petitioner is that several observations have been made by the Industrial Court as to whether the petitioner union could at all have enrolled employees working in the Fire Brigade Department as its members. This criticism is justified. The question as to whether such employees could have been enrolled by the petitioner union, considering the provisions of its constitution, is within the jurisdiction of the Registrar of Trade Unions. The Industrial Court cannot usurp the function of the Registrar of Trade Unions to ascertain whether an amendment, if any, to the Constitution has been made legally. That issue is within the domain of the 3 W.P.No.5194.10 Registrar of Trade Unions acting under the Trade Unions Act. The respondent unions have objected to the contentions of the petitioner union that in view of the amendment of rules in its Constitution it is entitled to enroll workmen from the Fire Brigade Department as its members. 4. The writ petition is rejected. 5. However, all the observations of the Industrial Court regarding amendment of the Constitution of the petitioner union and enrollment of employees from the Fire Brigade Department will not affect the interest of the petitioner in any proceeding. ..... 4 W.P.No.5194.10