FOOD CORPORATION OF INDIA WORKERS' UNION

FOOD CORPORATION OF INDIA AND OTHERS

March 1, 1985

[D.A. DESAI AND V. KHALID, JJ.]

Ct>ntract Aabour Regulation and Abolition) Act. 1970 Section 2 (I) (a) read with section! 2 (I) (e) 1(4) (a), (b) and Proviso and I (5) (a) and (b) and the Explanation-Terms "apporopriate Government", clarified-Appropriate Govern ment for the purposes of taking necessary steps under the Act of 1970 to redress the grievances of the contract labours working with the Food Corporation of India's e.Jtab/ishment situated in the States is the respective State Government under sub-section 2 of section 2 (a) and not rhe Central Guvernment-Canon of statutory construction explained-" Any industry carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government" which is in pari materia with Section 2 (a)

(1) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, meaning of-N:.1ture of relief that can be qrt1nted. outlined.

The Food Corporation of India has been entrusted with the duty of procuring foodgrains and its movement and distribution throughout the country. The Corporation employs for the discharge of this work three types of labourers ; (1) departmentalised labour who are its regular employees ; (2) direct paid labour ; and (3) Contract labour who are employed by the Corporation through the intermediary of contractors.

I he petitioners who come under the third category have been trying to pursuade the corporation for progressive departmentalisation of its labour or in the alternative extending to the11.1 the benefits of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act,

1970. By this writ petition they prayed for a writ of mandamus either to the Union Govern.ment or to the concerned State Governments, to extend to them' the benefits of the Act, for a direction to the corporation to pay tkem th~ same wages as are paid to the departmentalised labour and other 'rclicf5. TAc Corporation pleaded that the approoriate Government for the purpose of the claims of the petitioners working in its establishment in a State is the concerned State Government and not the Central Government, which

standwas adopted by ihe 15th Repondent State of Madhya Pradesh and the 21st Respondent State of Punjab through their respective affidavits and therefore disowned its responsibility. The other States did not file their counter at all.

Allowing the petition, the Court,

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WORKERS; UNION v. FOOD CORPORATION 151

HELD : Section 10 of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Aboli- A tion) Act, 1970 enables the appropriate Government by a suitable notification after making a study of the conditions laid down therein to prOhibit employment of contract labour in any 'process, operation, or other work' in aay

establishment. The petitioners1 complaint that despite several disputes aad respresentations made to all the State Governments as well as the Union of India, nothing has so fare been done to give the benefit of Section 10 to the contract labour in the Corporation by playing hide and seek, one pOinting to B the other as the appropriate Government for redressal of their grievances is justified. [1550-E]

2.1 On the interpretation of the relevant sections namely, 1 (4), 1 (5), 2 (1) (a) and 2 (a) (e) of the Contract Labour Act, 1970 read with section 2 (a) (1) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 "appropriate Government" for the purpose of this case pertaining to the regionl offices and warehouses of the e C Food Corporation of Tndia in the fespective States i'i the State Government and not the Central Government. [161D] ·

2.2 Section 1(4) deals with the application of the Act to establishments and contractors answering to the description given therein and certainly the establishment of the Food Corporation and the contrdctors it employs come D within the ambit of tne provisions of this Act. [156F]

2.3 Various warehouses, godowns and places alike set up .by the Corporation would be establishments where the trade of the corporatiOn is being carried on and within the maning of the term "establishment" in section 2 (I) (e) (ii).of the Act. [158E]

2.4 It is a well-established canon of statutory construction that legislature is known to avoid tautology and redundancy. If Food Corporation of India was an industry carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government, it would have been comprehended in the first part of sub-section

(1) of Section i of the Industrial Disputes Act, but that being not the position, it was specifically referred to by name. However, the expression 'appropriate Government' in the Contract Labour Act, 1970 does not include by name the Food Corporation of India as the one in respect of which the appropriate Government would be the Central Government, while it is mentioned so in the definition in the Industrial Disputes Act even though both the statutes use the general expression 'any industry carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government.' [l69C-E]

2.5 Looking to the placement of the expression in the definition clauSe of the Contract Labour Act and the purpose for \Vhich it is enacted, the expression 'any industry carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government' mean 'pursuant to the authority, such as where aq. agent or a servant acts under or pursuant to the authority of his principal or master.' Since the various establishments of the Corporation do not pertain to any

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(1985] 3 S.C.R.

controlled industry, sub-clause (1) of sub-sectien (1) of section 2 (a) of the Act is not attracted and therefore, the case would be governed by the residuary provision in sub-section (2) and the State Government would be the appropriate Government. Further in the counter affidavit filed by the Corporation it is stated that this question was examined by tlie Labour Ministry which had cl8.rifi.ed that the respective State Governments are the 'appropriate Governments• for the corporation's establishments situated in the State. The Union of India has correctly taken a similar stand and the States of Punjab and Madhya Pro.desb have also affirmed it. [160B; F; IG; 161A-B]

Heavy Engineering Mazdoor Union v. The State of Bihar and Ors., [1969) 3 SCR 995; Rashtriya Mills Mazdoor Sangh, Nagpur v. The Model MU/s, Nagpur and Anr., AIR 1984 SC 1813, applied.

Ia;~, ia&tant case, it wiJJ not be possible or proper for tha Court to graut the reliefs prayed by the petitioner in full on the materials on record, the materials being scanty and insufficient for a comprehensive adjudication of 1he claims of the petitioners. The Act contains provisions enabling the appropriate Government to get reports as to how to implement the provisions of the Act.

The machinery provided for by the Act has not been brought into action in any State except the State of Madhya Pradesh. Therefore the course open to the Court is to issue appropriate direction to the State Governments except Madhya Pradesh State to constitute committees within three months, under section 5 of the Act to make necessary enquiries, and to submit a report within four months of its constitution as to whether it would be possible to abolish contract Jabour in the Corporation altogether. [161 F-Gl

E ORIGINAL JURISDICTION: Writ Petition No. 13508 of 1983

(Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India)

C. S. Vaidyanathan for the Petitioner.

Krishan Dayal, N.C. Talukdar, R.N. Poddar, Y.P. Rao, A.K. Sanghi and R. K. Mehta for the Respondents.

\!'he Judgment of the Court was delivered by

KHALID, J. This is representative action brought on behalf of the Contract [Labourers, working with the Food Corporation of India, the first respondent in the writ petition, distressed by the' unhelpful attitude of both the Central and the State Government in not redressing their grievances for either departmentalising them or in the alternative extending to them the beuefit of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 (for short 'The Act'),

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F. C. WORKERS; UNION~- FOOD CORPORATION (Khaiid, J.) 153

The petitioners complaint is that the Central and .the State Govern- A ments play hide and seek, one pointing to the other as the appropriate Govenment under the provisions of theAct and thus denying to them what is their dues.

2. The first respondent is the Food Corporation of India (herein after called 'The Corporation') ; the second respondent : Union of India; the third respondent: Chief Labour Oimmissioner (Central) and respondents 4 to 22, various State Governments. The. Corporation has been entrusted by the second respondent with the duty of procuring food grains and its movement and distribution throghout the country.

The corporation employs for the discharge of this work three types of labourers : (I) departmentalised labour who are its regular employees; (2) direct paid Jabour; and (3) contract Jabour who are employed by the Corporation through the intermediery of contractors. The petitioners have been trying to pursuade the Corporation for progressive departmantalisation of its Jabour. They, however, did not succeed. Their grievance is that even the limited benefits available to them under the provisions of the Act have not been extended to 'them. By this writ petition they pray, for a writ of mandamus either to the Union Government or to the State Governments, to extend to them the benefits of the Act, for a direction to the Corporation to pay them the same wages as are paid to the departmentalised labour and for other reliefs.

3. In a detailed counter-affidavit, the Corporation has pleaded that the appropriate Government for the propose of the claims of the petitioners is the State Government and not the Central Governm.ent, and that it is not practicable for the Corporation to employ . the labour whom the petitioner represent as departmental labour since the nature of the operations are seasonal, sporadic and varied from region to region, that' the work of the Corporation fluctuates in volume at different places and at differeni points pepending upon the procurement, movement and off take of food grains. It is further stated that it is not easy for abolition of Contract labour employed by the Corporation since other like organisations connected with the Government of India also empley contract labourers and hence abolition af contract labour cannot be consideder in isolation for the Corporation a.lone.

Among the State Governmei; ts, the 15th respondent (the State of Madhya Pradesh) nd the 21st respondent (the State of Punjab) have filed their respective counter-affidavits.

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154 SUPREME COURT REl>OR TS [1985] 3 s.c.a.

4. In its counter-affidavits the State of Madhya Pradesh has

stated that the said Government have framed rules under the Act (which came into force on 10.2 1971) for implementation of its provisions, that the Act is being implemented in its entirety in the said State, that it has constituted an independent State Advisory Contract Labour Board which was advising the State Government on such matters as are 1 eferred to it, that it has also constituted a committee on 31st March !981 in exercise of the powers conferred on it under Section 5 of the Act, and that in the case of 22 branches, prosecutions were launched for non-compliance with the provisions of the Act.

5. In the Counter-affidavit flied on behalf of respondent No. 21, (the State of Punjab) it is stated that th.e appropriate Government for the purpose of the Act for the regional office of tne Corporation in the Punjab State, is the State Gov.ernment.

6. Before considering the claims of the petitioners, we will have a look at some of the provisions of the Act, which if properly implemented would have, in some measure at least, satisfied the labour.

Section 10 of the Act reads as follows:

" 10. Prohibition of employment af contract labour-

(I) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the apppopriate Government may, after consultation with the Central Board or, as the case may be, a State Board, prohibit, by notification in the Official Gazette, employment of contract labour in any process operation or other work in any establishment.

(2) Before issuing any notification under sub-section (I) in relation to an establishment, the appropriate Government shall have regard to the conditions of work and benefits provided for the contract labour in that establish ment and other relevant factors, such as-

(a) whether the process, operation or other work is incidental to or necessary for the industry, trade, business, manufacture or occupation that is carried on in the !establishment;

P.c. WORKERS' UNION v. FOOD CORPORATION (Khalid, J.) 155

(b) whether it is of perennial nature, that is to A say, it is so of sufficient duration having regard to the nature of industry, trade, business, manufacture or occupation carried on in that establishment;

(c) whether it is done ordinarily through regular workmen in that establishment or an establishment B similar thereto;

(d) whether it is sufficient to employ considerable number of whole time workmen.

Explanation-If a question arises whether any process or operation or other work is of perennial nature, the decision of the appropriate Government thereon shall be final.'

This section enables the appropriate Government by a suitable notification after making a study of the conditions laid down therein to prohibit employment of contract labour in any 'process, operation or other work' in any establishment.

The petitioners grievance is that despite several disputes and representations made to all, the State Governments as well as the Union of India, nothing has so far been done to give the benefit of Section 10 to be contract labour in the Corporal.ion.

This complaint appears to be justified.

We will now examine the relevant provisions of the Act to find out as to which are the industries or establishments to which the Act applies and which is the appropriate Government in its contemplation, on whom is entrusted the duty to ameliorate the conditions of labour. We read Section 1(4) (a), (b) and Proviso and Section 1(5) (a) and (b) and the Explanation :

"1( 4) It applies :

(a) to every establishment in which twenty or more

workmen are employed or were employed on al)y G day of the preceding twelve months as contract labour;

(b) to every contractor who employs or who employed on any day of the preceding twelve months twenty or more workmen; H

SUPREME COURT REPORTS t198SJ J s.c.ll..

I Provided that the appropriate Government may. after giving

not less thnn two months' notice of its intention so to do, by notification in the Official Gazette, apply the provisions of this Act to any establishment or contractor employing such number of workmen less than twenty as may be specified in the notification.

(5) (a) It shall not apply to establishments in which work only of an intermittent or casual nature is performed.

(b) If a question arises whether work performed in an establishment is of an intermittent or casual nature, the appropriate Government shall decide that question a(ter consultation with the Central Board or, a• the case may be, a State Board, and its decision sh all be final.

E1p!anation : For the purpose of this sub-section, work performed in an establishment shall not be deemed to be of an intermit- D taut nature. -

(i) if it was performed for more than one hundred and twenty days in the_preceding twelve months, or

(ii) if it is of a seasonal character and is performed for more than sixty days in a year."

Section 1(4) deals with the application of the Act to establishments and contractors answering to the description given therein.

It was not disputed before us that the establishment in question and the contractors it employs come within the ambit of the provisions of this Act. However, an investigation is necessary to collect factual details to ascertain whether the €orporation comes within the exemption indicated in clause I (5) quoted abovt.

8. Section 3 speaks of a Central Advisory Board to advise the Central Government on matters arising out of the administration of the Act and Section 4 speaks similarly of State Advisory Boards. Section 5 confers on the Central Boad or the State Boards as the case may be the power to constitute committees for the proper implemetation of the provisions of the Act. Section 7 requires' registration of establishments to which the , Act applies.

On such registration, the principal employer will get a certificate of

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. F. C. WORKERS' .UNION v. FOOD CORPORATION (Khalid, J.) 157

registration containing the necessary particulars. Chapter IV deals A with the licence ofa contractor and Chapter V.with the welfare and health of the contract labour. Chapter VI deals with penalties and procedure.

9. The petitioners case is that though the Act came into force on 10·2·1971 no contractor has complied with the provisions of the Act and each of them bas by infringement of the provisions of the Act rendered themselves liable to be prosecuted. Since the cont ractors have not g?t themselves licenced, the labourers find it difficult to invoke the relevant provisions of the Rules to seciire the benefits to them under the Act. ·

10. Now the question as to which ls the appropriate Govern ment for the implementation of the provisions of the provisions of the Act can be considered. A decision on this question is necessary before any direction can be issued in this writ petition. The State Governments, except those of State of Madhya Pradesh and Punjab, have not filed their counter affidavits. In the writ petition the

petitio'ners have indicated that the Central and the State Govern ments have taken up conflicting stand on this question.

11. 'Appropriate Government' is defined in Section 2(1) (a) of the Act to read as under :

"2(1) (a) "Appropriate Government means, :

(1) in relation to-

(I) any establishment pertaining to any industry carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government, or pertaining to any such controlled industry as may be specified m this behalf by the Central Government, or

(ii) any. establishment of any railway Cantonment G Board, major port, mine or oil field, or

(iii) any establishment of a banking or insurance company,

(2) the Central Government, H

in relation to any other establishment the Government of the State in which that other establishment is situated."

A bare reading will show that sub-els. (ii) and (iii) of sec. 2(1)

(a) are not attracted in this case. The question then is whether various establishments of the Corporation spread all over the couatry could be said to be establishments pertaining to any industry carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government or pertaining. to any such controlled industry as may be specified in this behalf by the Central Government. Before we determine the . width ; nd mbit of sub-cl. (i) of sub-sec. (I) of sec. 2 (I) (a), it would be advantageous to refer to the definition of 'establishment' set out in sec. 2 (l)(e). It reads as under:

"2(1) (e)-Establishment means-

(i) any office or department of the Government or a local authority, or

(ii) any place where any industry, trade, business, manufacture or occupation is carried on."

We would be concerned with subcl (ii) of Sec. 2 (I) (e) which provides that the establishment would be an establishment where any industry, trade, business, manufacture or occupation is carried on. Thus various warehouses, godowns and place alike set up by the Corporation would be establishments where the trade of the

Corporation is being carried on. Could these establishments be said to be pertaining to an industry carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government ? Before we find out correct meaning of the expression 'any industry carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government', it is necessary to draw attention to the definition of 'appropriate Government' as set out in Section 2(a) (I) of the l•dustrial Disputes Act, 1947, which provides that 'appropriate Government' means: (i) in relation to any industrial dispute concerning a"y industry carried on by or under the

uthority of Central GovcrnmeRt (omitting the words not necessary for the present purposc) ... or in relation to an industrial dispute concerning the ...... Food Corporation of India established under Section 3 or a Board of Management established for two Of mQr~ .

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F.C. WORKERS' UNWN v. °FOOOD CORPORATION (Khalid, J.) 159

contiguou; States under Section 16 of the Food Corporation Act, 1964 ...... , the Central Government. Obviously, therefore, for the purpose of Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, in relation to any industrial dispute concerning the Food Corporation of India, the Central Government is the appropriate Government, There is an express reference to the Food Corporation of India. If the Food 1 • Corpor.tion of India was an establishment in an industry carried on by or under the authority of the Central ( overnment, it would be ' tautologous to specifically refer it and include it. It is a well' established canon of statutory construction that legislature is known to a; oid tautology and redundancy. If Food Corporation of India' was an industry carried on by or under the authority of the Centr"l Government, it would have been comprehended in the first part of sub-section (1) but that being not the position, it was specifically referred to by name. Having examined this definition, it is necessary to bring to fore the contra-distinction between the definition of the expression 'appropriate Government' in the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and the definition in the Act under examination. It may be.

p.ointed out that the expression in the Act does not include by name the Food Corporation of India as the one in respect of which the appropriate Government would be the Central Government, while it is mentioned so in the definition in the Industrial Disputes Act even though both the statutes use the general expression 'any industry carried on by or under the authority of th'e Central Government.

12.

Having noticed this contra-distinction, let us examine the width and content of the expression 'any industry carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government'. The matter is no n1ore res integra. In Heavy Engineering Mazdoor Union v.

The State of Bihar and Ors.\lJ this Court held that the expression 'any industry carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government' as used in the definition of expression 'appropriate Government' in Section 2(a) (i) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, would mean 'pursuant to the authority, such as where an agent or a servant acts under or pursuant to the authority of his principal or mlitor.' This Court took notice of the fact that the entire share capital of the

Heavy Engineering Corporation Ltd., was contributed bv the Central Government and extensive powers were conferred _on .it and

(!) (1969]- 3 S<;; R 995

D '

yet he Corporation was none other than a company and could not be said to be an industry carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government. Therefore, the case would be covered by the residuary clause and the appropriate Government was held to be the State Government and the reference under Section 10 made by the State of Bihar was held valid and competent. Looking to the placement of the expression in the definition clause of the Act and the purpose for which it is enacted, the expression 'any industry carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government' must receive the same interpretation as was done in the aforementioned case. In a recent decision of this Court in Rashtriya Mills Mazdoor Sangh, Nagpur v. The Model Mills, Nagpur and Anr.,(') to which both of us were parties, while interpreting more or less an identical expression occuring in Section 32(iv) of the Banns Act, 1965, this Court held that in relation to an undertaking in textile industry in respect of which an authorised controller was appointed under the provisions of the Industrial (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951, the appropriate Government was the State Government and not the Central Government observing that even where an authorised controller is appointed by the Central Government. it merely substitutes Board of Director of a company managing the industrial undertaking by an authorised controller appointed by the Central Governmcpt, but the undertaking none-the-less remains an undertaking managed under the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956, and it could not be said to be an undertaking in any industry carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government.

The same approach holds good for the purpose of construction of the expressin 'any industry carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government' under the Act. Let it be made clear that it was not suggested that the various establishments of the Corporation pertain to any contr0llcd industry. Therefore, sub-clause (i) of Sub-section (IJ of Section 2(a) of the Act is not attracted and therefore, the case would be governed by the residuary provision in sub-section (2) and the State Government would be the appropriate Government.

13. The question as to which is the 'appropriate Government has been briefly dealt with in the counter-affidavits filed by the Corporation, State of Madhya Pradesh and the State of Punjab. In the counter-affidavit tiled by the Corporation, it is stated that this

(1) AIR 1984 SC 181,

F. C. WORKERS' UNION v. I'OOD CORPORATION (Kha/id, J.) 161

question was examined by the Labour Ministry and that the said A Ministry had clarified that the respective State Governments are the 'appropriate Governments' for the Corporation's establishments situated in the States. The Union of India, the second respondent, in its counter-affidavit has also taken the stand that the 'appropriate Government' for the purpose of the Zonal establishments situated B

in the respective States is the State Government and not the Central Government.

The State of Punjab and the State of Madhya Pradesh have also stated in their respective counter-affidavits that the 'appropriate Government' for the purpose of the Act for the regional offices of the Corporation in their respective States is the State Goverpment.

These pleadings are indicative of the fact that the State Governments understood them to be the 'appropriate Government' for the Zonal offices in their respective State.

On the interpretation of the relevant Sections extracted above, we hold that the 'appropriate Government' for the purpose of this case pertaining to the regional offices and the warehouses in the respective States is the State Government. and not the Central Government.

 14. However, we are of the opinion that it may not be possible or proper for u.s to grant the reliefs prayed for by the petitioner in full on the materials on record. The materials are scanty and insufficient for a comprehensive adjudication of the claims of the petitioners and to grant them reliefs as prayed for.

The Act con-

, . tains provisions enabling the 'appropriate Government' to get reports as to how to. implement the provisions of the Act. The machinery provided for by the Act has not been brought into action in any State except the State of Madhya Pradesh. Under these circumstances, the only course open to us is to issue appropriate ..._ direction to the State Governments to constitute committees under Section 5 of the Act, to make necessary enquiries, and to submit a report as to whether it would be possible to abolish contract labour in the Corporation altogether. In so doing, we will hav~ to exclude the State of Madhya Pradesh because the counter-affidavit filed by that State shows that necessary action is being taken under the Act.

Accordingly a writ of mandamus will be issued to all the State Governments except the State of Madhya Pradesh for appointing ...... a committee under Section 5 of the Act within three months from

A today to enquire whether contract labour in the Corporation should be abolished. The committee shall submit a report within four months of its constitution and the Government is directed to take action on s.uch report within two months thereafter. The necessary expenses for the committees will be borne by the Corporation. Since the Madhya Pradesh Government has already constituted committees B under Section 5, the .said State is directed to 'ask the committees so appointed to make its report expeditiously and to take appropriate action on the.report as indicated above. The Corporation will be at liberty to place materials before the committees whether it comes within the exemption clause. The writ petition is allowed as indicated above with costs to the petitioner quantified at Rs. 2,000 pay- C able by the Cotporation.

S.R.

Petition allowed.