Summarize the following court judgment. Appeal No. 1164 of 1970. (Appeal by Special Leave from the Order dated the 5th Sep tember 1969 of the Punjab & Haryana High Court in S.C.A. No. 197 of 1968) Naunit Lal	 Girish Chandra and R.N. Sachthey	 for the appel lant. S.B. Wad	 for respondent No. 1. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by CHANDRACHUD	 J. The 1st respondent is a co operative transport society carrying on transport business at Kaithal	 District Karnal	 State of Haryana. The Society terminated the services of respondents 3 and 4 who were working with it as conductor and driver	 respectively. The State of Punjab	 on June 22	 1964 referred the dispute arising out of the dismissal of respondents 3 and 4	 under section 10 of the Indus trial Disputes Act (14 of 1947) for the adjudication of the Labour Court	 Rohtak. That Court was then presided over by Shri Jawala Dass. On Shri Dass 's retirement	 Shri Hans Raj Gupta was appointed on June 4	 1965	 as the presiding Officer of the Court. The reference was thereafter heard by him and on April 16	 1966 he gave an award directing the reinstatement of respondents 3 and 4 with 50% backwages from the date of their dismissal until the date of reinstatement. The Presiding Officer of the Labour Court is the 2nd re spondent to this appeal. Being aggrieved by the award	 the 1 st respondent filed Writ Petition No. 1575 of 1966 in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana under articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution	 praying that the award given by the 2nd respondent be set aside on the ground	 inter alia	 that he was not qualified to hold the post of a Judge of the Labour Court	 and	 therefore	 the award was without jurisdiction. The Writ petition having been allowed by a Division Bench by its judgment dated March 26	 1968 the State of Haryana has filed this appeal by special leave. The Presiding Officer of the Labour Court was impleaded to the Writ Petition as the 2nd respondent. 308 The only question for decision in this appeal is whether Shri Hans Raj Gupta who gave his award as the presiding Officer of the Labour Court was qualified for being appoint ed as a Judge of the Labour Court. Section 7(1) of the provides that the appropriate Gov ernment may constitute one or more Labour Courts for the adjudication of Industrial disputes relating to any matter specified in the Second Schedule to the Act. A Labour Court	 under s.7(2)	 shall consist of one person only to be appointed by the Government. Sub section (3) of section 7 reads thus: "(3 ) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as the presiding officer of a Labour Court	 unless (a) he is	 or has been	 a Judge of a High Court; or (b) he has	 for a period of not less than three years	 been a District Judge or an Additional District Judge; or (c) he has held the office of the chairman or any other member of the Labour Appellate Tribunal constituted under the Industrial Disputes (Appellate Tribunal) Act	 1950 (48 of 1950)	 or of any Tribunal	 for a period of not less than two years; or (d) he has held any judicial officer in India for not less than seven years; or (e) he has been the presiding officer of a Labour Court constituted under any Provincial Act or State Act for not less than five years". It was common ground in the High Court that Shri Gupta did not satisfy the qualifications laid down in any of the clauses (a)	 (b)	 (c) and (e) of section 7(3). It was	 however	 urged in the High Court	 in the first instance	 that Shri Gupta had held a judicial offical in India for not less than seven years and was	 therefore	 qualified for being appointed as a Judge of the Labour Court under clause (d) of s.7 (3 ). This argument was made before the learned Chief Justice of the High Court who	 while hearing the Writ Peti tion singly	 felt that the question raised was of public importance. He	 therefore	 referred the matter to a Divi sion Bench. The contention that Shri Gupta was qualified to hold the office of a Judge of the Labour Court under clause (d) of s.7(3) was	 however	 given up by the State before the Division Bench. Before us	 the learned counsel for the appellant	 the State of Haryana	 rightly did not pursue the unstatable contention. Shri Hans Raj Gupta was initially working as an Upper Division Clerk cure Head Clerk. Thereafter	 he worked from January 14	 1947 to October 19	 1954 as the Registrar to the Pensions Appeals Tribunal	 Jullundur Cantonment. After relinquishing that post	 he was reverted as an Upper Divi sion Clerk cum Head Clerk	 which office he held till Febru ary 17	 1957. Subsequentiy	 he was appointed as an Assistant Settlement officer in which post he worked fill September 1962. It is obvious	 and requires no clever argument to show	 that Shri Gupta was holding clerical posts which	 with some courtesy may 309 be described as posts calling for and furnishing administra tive experience. As an Upper Division Clerk	 even if the duties of that post were combined with those of the Head Clerk	 Shri Gupta was nowhere in the shadow of a judicial office. As a Registrar of the Pensions Appeals Tribunal	 Jullundur Cantonment	 he was admittedly discharging adminis trative functions. A circumstance which seems to have blurred the perception of the State Government perhaps was that the Pensions Appeals Tribunal was a judicial or quasi judicial body and since Shri Gupta was closely associated with it	 does not matter in what capacity	 he could be said to hold a judicial office. Administrative proximity with judicial work was regarded as an excuse good enough to elevate the administrator into a holder of judicial office. This was a wholly misconceived approach to a matter of some moment for	 were it so	 many a judicial clerk would be qualified to be appointed to a judicial office. Having never held any judicial office	 Shri Gupta totally lacked judicial experience and was incompetent to discharge the functions of a Judge of the Labour Court. His appointment was therefore illegal and his award without jurisdiction. We are happy to note that the State Government did not take the time of the DiVision Bench of he High Court and of this Court in arguing an impossible proposition. Nevertheless	 the award given by Shri Gupta as the Presiding Officer of the Labour Court is defended by the State Government on the Plea that Shri Gupta 's appointment cannot be challenged in a collateral proceeding filed in the High Court for challenging the award. Reliance is placed in support of this submission on the following passage in Cooley 's "A Treatise on the Constitutional Limitations" (8th edn; vol. 2; pages 1255 1358); "An officer de jure is one who	 possessing the legal qualifications	 has been lawfully chosen to the office in question	 and has fulfilled any conditions precedent to the performance of its duties. By being thus chosen and. observing the precedent conditions	 such a person becomes of right entitled to the pos session and enjoyment of the office	 and the public	 in whose interest the office is creat ed	 is entitled of right to have him perform its duties. If he is excluded from it	 the exclusion is both a public offense and a private injury. An officer de lure may be excluded from his office by either an officer de facto or an intruder. An officer de facto is one who by some color of right is in possession of an office and for the time being performs its duties with public acquiescence though having no right in fact. His color of right may come. from an election or appointment made by some officer or body having colourable but no actual right to make it; or made in such disregard of legal requirements as to be ineffectual in law; or made to fill the place of an officer illegally removed; or made in favor of a party not having 310 the legal qualifications; or it may come from public acquiescence in the officer holding without performing the precedent conditions	 or holding over under claim of right after his legal right has been terminated; or possibly from public acquiescence alone when accompa nied by such circumstances of official reputa tion as are calculated to induce people	 without inquiry	 to submit to or invoke offi cial action on the supposition that the person claiming the office is what he assumes to be. An intruder is one who attempts to perform the duties of an office without au thority of law	 and without the support of public acquiescence. No one is under obligation to recognise or respect the acts of an intruder	 and for all legal purposes they are absolutely void. But for the sake of order and regularity	 and to prevent confusion in the conduct of public business and in security of private rights	 the acts of officers de facto are not suffered to be questioned because of the want of legal authority except by some direct proceeding instituted for the purpose by the State of by some one claiming the office de lure	 or except when the person himself attempts to build up some right	 or claim some privilege or emolument	 by reason of being the officer which he claims to be. In all other cases the acta of an officer de facto are as valid and effectual	 while he is suffered to retain the office	 as though he were an officer by right	 and the same legal consequences will flow from them for the protection of the public and of third parties. This is an important principle	 which finds concise expression in the legal maxim that the acts of officers de facto cannot be questioned collaterally. " Equally strong reliance was placed by the State Govern ment on a decision of the Ontario Supreme Court in Rs Toronto N. Co. City of Tornoto (1) in which	 after an exami nation of several American and other decisions	 Meredith	 C.J.O.	 observed: "That it is not open to attack	 in a collateral proceeding	 the status of a de facto Judge	 having at least a colourable title to the office	 and that his acts are valid	 is clear	 I think	 on principle and on authority	 and it is also clear that the proper proceeding to question his right to the office is by quo warranto information." (PP. 551 552) Learned counsel for the State	 Shri Naunit Lal	 further drew our attention to a decision of the High Court of Tra vancore Cochin in Bhaskera Pillai and Ant. State(2) which	 relying upon the passage in Cooley 's Constitutional Limitations and the Canadian case	 held that the appoint ment of the Chief Justice of that Court could not be ques tioned collaterally in a proceeding for leave. to appeal to the Supreme Court against the decisions rendered by him. Some sustenance was also sought to the same argument from a decision of a Full Bench of (1) 46 Dominion Law Report 547. (2) (1950) 5	 D.L.R. Travancore Cochin 382. 311 the Allahabad High Court in Queen Empress vs Garsa Sam(1) in which it was held that where a person had in fact been exercising all the functions of a Judge of the High Court	 the appointment even if apparently ultra vires must never theless be presumed	 in the absence of fuller information	 to have been legally made in the exercise of some power	 unknown to the Court	 vested in the Secretary of State for India. Broadly	 the starting point and the primary basis of these decisions is the passage from Cooley 's Constitutional Limitations	 which we have extracted above. That passage says and means that the acts of officers de facto cannot be suffered to be questioned for want of legal authority except by some direct proceeding. This important principle	 according to Cooley	 finds concise expression in the legal maxim that the acts of officers de facto cannot be allowed to be questioned collaterally. Considering the nature and course of proceedings in the instant case	 it seems to us impossible to hold that the challenge to Shri Gupta 's appointment was made in a collat eral proceeding. That Shri Gupta 's appointment was not challenged in the very proceeding before him does not meet the point and in any case	 if the proper mode to challenge the validity of an appointment to a public office is by a petition for the writ of quo warranto	 the Labour Court over which Shri Gupta presided was hardly an appropriate forum for challenging the appoinment of its Presiding Officer. The 1st respondent	 the Haryana Co operative Transport Ltd.	 against whom Shri Gupta gave the award	 filed a writ peti tion in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana to challenge the award on the ground that Shri Gupta was not qualified to hold the office of a Judge of the Labour Court and	 there fore	 the award given by him was without jurisdiction. The challenge to Shri Gupta 's appointment having been made by a writ petition under articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution	 to which Shri Gupta was impleaded as a partyrespondent	 the challenge was made directly in a substantive proceeding and not collaterally. The writ petition was filed mainly with a view to challenge Shri Gupta 's appointment on the ground that he was not qualified to fill the post to which he was appointed. Having been impleaded to the writ peti tion he had a clear and rightful opportunity to defend his appointment. The proceedings by way of a writ petition were taken not collaterally for attacking an appointment to a judicial office in a proceeding primarily intended for challenging a so called judicial decision	 but the proceed ing was taken principally and predominantly for challenging the appointment itself. None of the decisions	 nor indeed the passage in Cooley 's Treatise	 is therefore	 any answer to the prayer that the award be declared to be ultra vires on the ground that the officer who gave it was not qualified to hold that post in the exercise of whose functions the award was given. The mere circumstance that the 1st respondent did not in so many words ask for the writ of quo warranto cannot justi fy the argument that the appointment was being challenged collaterally in a proceeding takes to challenge the award. Considering the averments in the writ petition	 it seems to us clear that the main and real attack on the award (3) I.L.R. 16. 4 1546 SCI/76 312 was the ineligibility of Shri Gupta to occupy the post of a Judge of the Labour Court	 in the discharge of whose func tions the award was rendered by him. The relief of certio rari asked for by writ petition was certainly inappropriate but by clause (c) of paragraph 16	 the High Court was invited to issue such other suitable writ	 order or direc tion as it deemed fit and proper in the circumstances of the case. There is no magic in the use of a formula. The facts necessary for challenging Shri Gupta 's appointment are stated clearly in the writ petition and the challenge to his appointment is expressly made on the ground_ that he was not qualified to hold the post of a Judge of the Labour Court. It must be mentioned that in the Canadian case of re Toronto vs City of Toronto (supra) the contention was that the Ontario Railway and Municipal Board was a "Superior Court" within the meaning of section 96 of the British North America Act and its members	 not having been appointed by the Governor General	 had no jurisdiction to exercise the powers conferred upon the Board by the Act by which it was created. This argument was repelled firstly on the ground that the Board was not a Court but an administrative body and secondly on the ground that there was nothing to show that the members of the Board were not appointed by the Governor General. In the Travancore Cochin case the Chief JustiCe whose appointment was challenged was qualified to hold that post since he had held the office of a Judge of the Madras High Court though he had retired from that office on attaining the age of 60. The question really turned on the construc tion of article 376 (2) of the Constitution which confers power on the President is determine the period for which a Judge of a High Court in any Indian State corresponding to any State specified in part B of the First Schedule holding office immediately before the commencement of the Constitu tion may continue to hold that office. Besides	 the Chief Justice 's appointment was challenged collaterally in appli cations for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court against the judgments pronounced by him. The Full Bench judgment of the Allahabad High) rested on the presumption	 in the absence of fuller information	 that the appointment must be deemed to have been made in the exercise of some power vested in the Secretary of State for India even if such power was unknown to the Court. Deliver ing the judgment of the Court	 Edge	 C.J. observed at page 157: "Being in ignorance as to whether or not any power existed under which Mr	 Justice Burkitt may have been lawfully appointed to act as a Judge of this court	 we hold that the presumption that he was duly appointed	 which arises from the fact of his having acted as a Judge of the Court since November 1892	 has not been re butted. This may seem to be a lame and impotent conclusion for a Court of Justice to arrive at concerning the validity of the appoint ment of one of its acting Judges	 but our lack of necessary information	ion as to the appointment	 coupled with the circumstances of the case	 permits of our arriving at no other. " Learned counsel for the State of Haryana contends that there is one more impediment in the Court holding that Shri Gupta was not 313 qualified under section 7(3) of the Act to be appointed as a Judge of the Labour Court. Reliance is placed in support of this argument on section 9(I) of the Act which reads thus: "9. Finality of orders constituting Boards	 etc. (1) No order of the appropriate Government or of the Central Government appointing any person as the chairman or any other member of a Board or Court or as the presiding officer of a Labour Court	 Tribunal or National Tribunal shall be called in ques tion in any manner; and no act or proceeding before any Board or Court shall be called in question in any manner on the ground merely of the existence of any vacancy in	 or defect in the constitution of	 such Board or Court. " It is true that s.9(1) is worded so widely and generally that it could cover any and every challenge to the appoint ment to the particular posts therein mentioned. But it is impossible to construe the provision as in derogation of the remedies provided by articles 226 and 227 of the Consti tution. The rights conferred by those articles cannot be permitted to be taken away by a broad and general provision in the nature of s.9(1) of the Act. The words "in any manner" which occur in s.9(1) must	 therefore	 be given a limited meaning so as to. bar the jurisdiction of civil courts	 in the ordinary exercise of their powers	 to enter tain a challenge to appointments mentioned in the sub sec tion. The High Court of Assam(1)	 Bombay(2) and Rajasthan(3) have taken	 like the High Court of Punjab and Haryana in the instant case	 a correct view of the scope and meaning of s.9(1) of the Act by limiting its operation to ordinary powers of the civil Courts. The rights conferred by articles 226 and 227 can be abridged or taken away only by an appro priate amendment of the Constitution and their operation cannot be whittled down by a provision like the one con tained in s.9( 1 ) of the Act. Accordingly	 it is open to the High Courts in the exercise of their writ jurisdiction to consider the validity of appointment of any person as a chairman or a member of a Board or Court or as a presiding officer of a Labour Court	 Tribunal	 or National Tribunal. If the High Court finds that a person appointed to any of these offices is not eligible or qualified to hold that post	 the appointment has to be declared invalid by issuing a writ of quo warranto or any other appropriate writ or direction. To strike down usurpation of office is the function and duty of High Courts is the exercise of their constitutional powers under articles 226 and 227. In the result we affirm the judgment of the High Court and dismiss this appeal. We are thankful	. to Shri Wad for assisting the Court as amicus. S.R. Appeal dismissed. (1) Bozbarua (G.C.) vs Sate of Assam 1954 Assam 161. (2) lagannath Vinayak Kale vs Ahmedi (1958) II L.L.J. 50 (Bom.) (3) Mewer Textile Mills Ltd. vs Industrial.

The first respondent	 a Co operative Transport Society terminated the services of respondent 3 and 4. The State of Punjab referred the dispute arising out of the dismissal of respondents 3 to 4 under section 10 of the to the Labour Court that was presided over by Mr. Das. On Mr. Das 's retirement Shri Hans Raj Gupta was ap pointed as the Presiding Officer of the Court. Mr. Gupta gave an award directing the reinstatement of respondents 3 and 4 with 50 per cent back wages from the date of their dismissal until the date of reinstatement. The first respondent being aggrieved by the award filed a writ petition in the High Court under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution praying that the award given by second respondent be set aside on the ground	 inter alia	 that he was not qualified to become the Presiding Officer under section 7(3) of the Act since he did not hold any judicial office in India for not less than 7 years. The contention of respondent No. 2 was that he held such a judicial office because he worked as Upper Division Clerk cum Head Clerk	 Assistant Settlemeat Officer and Registrar of the Pensions Appeals Tribunals. The contention that he held judicial office was not pressed before the High Court and in this Court by the State. The State Government	 however. supported the award on the plea that Mr. Gupta 's appointment cannot be challenged in collateral proceedings filed in the High Court for challenging the award. Re Toronto & Co. vs City of Toronto 46 Dominion Law Reports 547; Bhaskara Pillai and Anr. vs State [1950] 5DLR Travailcore Cochin 382 and Queen Empress vs Ganga Ram ILR 16 All. 136 distinguished. Dismissing the appeal	 HELD: 1. Considering the nature and course of proceedings in the instant it is impossible to hold that the challenge to Mr. Gupta 's appointment was made in a collateral proceeding. The appointment of Mr. Gupta could not have been challenged before him. The challenge to his appointment having been made by writ petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution to which Mr. Gupta was impleaded as a party respondent	 the challenge was made directly in a substantive proceeding and not in a collateral proceeding. Since he was impleaded in the writ petition he had a clear and right ful opportunity to defend kid appointment. [311 C E] 2. The mere circumstance that the first respondent did not in so many words ask for a writ of quo warranto cannot justify the argument that the appointment was being chal lenged collaterally in a proceeding taken to challenge the award. On the averments in the writ petition it is clear that the main and real attack on the award was the ineligi bility of Shri Gupta to occupy the post of a Judge of a Labour Court in the discharge of whose functions the award was rendered by him. [311 G H	 312A] 307 3. The relief of certiorari asked for by the writ peti tion was certainly inappropriate but the High Court was also invited to issue such other suitable writ	 order or direction as it deemed fit and proper in the circumstances of the case. There is no magic in the use of a formula. The facts necessary for challenging the appointment are stated clearly in the writ petition and the challenge to the ap pointment is expressly made on the ground that the officer was not qualified to hold the post. [312A B] 4. The finality of the orders of the Labour Court con templated by section 9(1) although widely worded must be given a limited meaning so as to bar the jurisdiction of civil courts in the ordinary exercise of their powers. It is impossible to construe the provisions in derogation of the remedies provided by Article 226 and 227 of the Constitu tion. [313D E] Bezparua (G.C.) vs State of Assam A.J.R. 1954 Assam 161	 Jagannath Vinayak Kale vs Ahmadi [1958] II L.L.J. 50 (Bom.) and Mewar Textile Mills Ltd. vs Industrial Tribunal A.I.R. 	 approved.