INTERPRETATION OF THE CLAUSE "UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF CENTRAL GOVERNMENT" UNDER VARIOUS LABOUR LAWS

SOME REFLECTIONS IN INDUSTRIAL JURISPRUDENCE - THE PROVINCE OF "APPROPRIATE GOVERNMENT ” REDEFINED - AN INDIVIDUALISTIC ATTEMPT

AJAYA KUMAR SAMANTARAY,CENTRAL LABOUR SERVICE

  PART I : JUDICIAL APPROACH

PRELUDE : The esteemed readers of this journal are aware that a Learned Constitution Bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India delivered a judgement in the case of Steel Authority of India Ltd. vrs. National Union Water Front Workers [AIR 2001 SC 3527 = 2001 Lab. I. C. 3656] on 30th August 2001. In this case quite a good number of cases from various High Courts in the country came to the Civil Appellate Jurisdiction of the Hon'ble Supreme Court. In this case, the following two issues were involved :

(1) the interpretation of the concept of "appropriate government" and

(2) validity of notification in S.O.No.779(E) dated 8/9.12.1976 issued by the Central Government prohibiting engagement of contract labour for the jobs of sweeping, cleaning, dusting and watching of buildings owned or occupied by the establishments in respect of which the appropriate government is the Central Government.

 In this write-up, I intend to discuss the concept of appropriate government with reference to the terms, authority and control. What I personally feel being  that the fog is not yet clear on the concept of "appropriate government” even today viz. a same question has arisen under Minimum Wages Act,1948.In the said enactment the clause “under the authority of Central Government” has been used but some people say that for Central Public Sector Undertakings central Government would not be the appropriate Government under Minimum Wages Act,1948.  Of course with due apology to the esteemed readers, I submit that I am neither a " legal expert nor a legal luminary on the subject. I do not have the audacity to comment on the judgement of the Hon’ble Apex Court. What I have visualised, out of my common sense, I am going to narrate. Mr.Gurudas M.Bhatt, the then Deputy Labour Commissioner, Government of Karnataka (now he has been retired as Additional Labour Commissioner) asked me several times to write an article on the subject. He is a best friend of mine and a very active source of inspiration to me in my academic pursuit. I write this article purely on academic lines, which could be put to debate. By no stretch of imagination I will have the audacity to claim that this is an authentic article which could be substituted for professional advice. In this article, I intend to reflect my individual views and I appeal to the esteemed readers to please be good and kind enough to send their views and criticisms so that necessary efforts shall be made to fine tune the article and publish a modified and refined write-up in the future issue/s of this esteemed labour law report.

        If we read the judgement in the case of SAIL, we will find out that the Hon’ble Apex Court has not told for which establishment the Central Government or the State Government shall be the appropriate government under Section 2(1) (a)(i) and (ii) of the Contract Labour (R&A) Act, 1970 or Section 2 (a) (i) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The judgement involves high degree of precision and a product of high caliber intellectual brain storming. I do not have the courage to say that I have understood the judgement so far as the concept of appropriate government is concerned since it is very rich with judicial intellect, intelligence and wisdom. As an upshot of the above judgement all the Central Public Sector Organisations, which were registered with the Central Labour Department, got inspected by the State Labour Authorities (in the year 20001,post the judgment) under the logic that after the SAIL judgement Central Government is no more the appropriate government under Industrial Disputes Act, 19471 Contract Labour (R&A) Act, 1970. Following the inspections by the State Labour Authorities, the Central PSU wrote to the Central Labour Department that they are going to register their establishments with the State Labour Department. Even some Central Public Sector stated that they have consulted SCOPE which has opined that under Contract labour (R&A) Act, 1970, State Government would be the appropriate Government. Now, few questions do arise viz. whether the Hon'ble Supreme Court has told anywhere in the judgement that Central Government would not be the appropriate government in respect of the Central Public Sector Undertakings under Section 2(1)(a)(i) of the Contract Labour (R&A) Act, 1970 that for the Central Public Sector Undertakings, State Government would be the appropriate government under the CL (R&A)Act, 1970 ? If a judgement is read, we would mainly find 2 parts viz. part pertaining to facts and discussion which could be called judicial literature (obiter dicta). In this judicial literature part or obiter dicta facts of the case are discussed very elaborately with reference to precedents and the other part being ‘operative part' which declares the law, (in case of the judgement of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, it is the law within the meaning of Article 141 of our Constitution). The Hon'ble Supreme Court., while delivering a judgement, declares what the law is, not what the law "ought” to be .This “ought” concept of law is left to the Hon’ble Legislature. In our country, the Hon’ble Legislature declare what the law ought to b

The operative part in SAIL's judgement - What it is?

      While answering the interpretation of the concept of "appropriate government', the Hon'ble Supreme Court has stated as follows:-

 “We have held above that in the case of a Central Government Company/Undertaking, an instrumentality of the government, carrying on an industry, the criteria to determine whether the Central Government is the appropriate government within the meaning of CL (R&A) Act, is that the industry must be carried on by or under the Authority of Central Government and not that the, company/undertaking is an instrumentality or an agency of the Central Government for the purpose of Article 12 of the Constitution, such an Authority may be conferred either by a statute or by virtue of relationship of principal and agent or delegation of power (italicised by me for emphasis) and this fact has to be ascertained on the facts and circumstances of each case. In view of this conclusion, with due respect, we are unable to agree with the view expressed by the learned judges on interpretation of the expression "appropriate Government in Air India's case (supra). Point No.1 is answered accordingly" .

  The above order is a clarificatory order, which does not declare what the law is. The Hon'ble Supreme Court, invoking its advisory jurisdiction (as I feel), has delivered this order leaving the question open to the judgement and wisdom of the concerned Central Public Sector Undertakings and the administrative authorities. It has laid down 3 tests as italicised by me above. In absence of any mandatory direction to the effect that Central Government would not be the appropriate government for the Central Public Sector Undertakings. I don't understand as to how it can be held that SAIL's judgement lays down a law to the effect that State Government would be the appropriate government in case of Central Public Sector Undertakings ! Even in the said judgement, the Hon'ble Supreme Court has not stated that in respect of SAIL, State Government would be the appropriate government.

 THE LEGAL CONCEPT OF "AUTHORITY"  : WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

      At paragraph No.29, the Learned Constitution Bench, while going to give the meaning of the word "authority", has relied on lexical meaning. The relevant portion is as follows:

"The relevant meaning of the word "authority" in the Concise Oxford Dictionary is delegated power. In Black's Law Dictionary, the meaning of the word “Authority” is permission,right to exercise powers - often synonymous with power. The power delegated by a Principal to his agent. The lawful delegation of power by one person to another. Power of agent to affect legal relations of principal by acts done in accordance with principal's manifestations of consent to agent. In Corpus Juris Secundum (at p.1290) the following are the meanings of the term "authority" in its broad general sense, the word has been defined as meaning CONTROL OVER, (bold capital letters supplied by me) power jurisdiction: power to act, whether original or delegated. The word is frequently used to express derivative power; and in this sense , the word may be used as meaning instructions, permission, power delegated by one person to another, the result of the manifestations by the former to the latter of the former's consent that the latter shall act for him, authority in this sense - in the laws of at least one State, it has been similarly used as designing or meaning an agency for the purpose of carrying out a State duty or function: someone to whom by law a power has been given. In 'Words and Phrases" we find various shades of meaning of the word "authority" at pp 603,606, 612 and 613: Authority, as the word is used throughout the restatement, is the power of one person to affect the legal relations of another by acts done in accordance with other's manifestations of consent to him, agency of one or more participating governmental units created by statute for specific purpose of having delegated to it certain functions governmental in character; the lawful delegation of power by one person to another person of agent to affect legal relations of principal by acts done in accordance with principal's manifestations of consent to him".

At paragraph No.30,with reference to paragraph No.29, the Hon'ble Apex Court has stated as follows:

"From the above discussion, it follows that the phrase "any industry carried on under the Authority of the Central Government” implies an industry which is carried on by virtue of, pursuant to,  conferment of, grant of, or delegation of power or permission by the Central Government to a Central Government Company or other Govt. company/undertaking. To put it differently, if there is lack of conferment of power or permission by the Central Government to a government company or undertaking it would disable such a company/undertaking to carry on the industry in question".

      The above discussions as well as fact situations, doubtlessly give us certain important propositions which would be quite helpful to us in determining nature, scope and meaning of the concept "authority". Those propositions are:

01. Authority involves the element of permission viz where authority exists, there is co-existence of permission. Authority and permission are inseparable from each other

02. Permission is a noun. Its verb form is to permit which means to allow to do something or certain things. Analysing it further, we get another proposition viz "an authority is a person or body, which has got the capacity to permit another body or person to do something".

 03. Authority refers to a right and this right is the right to exercise power on a person or a group of persons or a body.

04. Authority is a synonym to power or alternatively authority is the source of power.

05. Power according to Dictionary of Law (By L.B. Curzon, Reprint Edition 1997: Pitman Publishing, London) is "Authority vested in the donee (of the power) to mo

06. The power may be original or substantive power and at the same time delegated power (as narrated under 05 above restricting to a "doner and a done”. The person, who delegates the power, is called the delegator or principal and the person to whom the power is delegated is called the delegatee or the agent.

07. Authority also refers to power of an agent to affect legal relations of a consent to agent. This explanation shows that consent is also another proposition of the concept, authority.

 08. Authority refers to control over or the right to exercise control over the agent or the delegatee to whom power has been delegated.

09. The word "authority" expresses derivative power viz. the power which is derived (from some source/s), and, authority also refers to instructions which are given by the source of power.

10. The word "authority" encompasses "agency" within its ambit.

11. Authority is the power of one person to affect the legal relations of another by acts done in accordance with the others manifestation of consent to him.

12. Authority could be described as an "agency" of one or more participating governmental units created by statute for specific purpose of having delegated to it certain functions, governmental in character.

THE CONCLUSION:

      If all the tests as narrated above are applied to Central Public Sector Undertakings, we will find that those undertakings function under the authority of Central Government. What the learned Constitution Bench said in SAIL's judgement being that the clause "under the Authority of Central Government should not be interpreted in terms of Article 12 viz. State, Instrumentality of State or other Authorities. Though such bodies come under Article 12 of the Constitution of India , they Authority of Central Government by virtue of delegation. Since the core function of a Government is to govern, it has assigned functions other than governance to Public Sector Units, Statutory Bodies and Autonomous Organisations. To conclude, let me say that the words "Authority" and "Control" are synonymous terms and can be substituted control.

      The above apart, Industrial Dispute Act,1947 was enacted by the then British Government and they deliberately used the word “authority” to express absolutism or unfettered power. But subsequent legislations like Payment of Gratuity Act,1970 , Equal Remuneration Act,1976 and Child and Adolescent Labour (P & R) Act,1986 have used the word “control” in stead of authority to connote democratic socialism, democracy does not aim at authoritarianism or absolutism.

SOME REFLECTIONS IN INDUSTRIAL JURISPRUDENCE - THE PROVINCE OF "APPROPRIATE GOVERNMENT” REDEFINED - AN INDIVIDUALISTIC ATTEMPT

AJAYA KUMAR SAMANTARAY,CENTRAL LABOUR SERVICE

  PART II : LEXICOGRAPHICAL APPROACH

PRELUDE : In Part I of this article I had analysed the concept of "appropriate government” in terms of the judgement of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in SAIL's case. Since that article was solely based on the judgement I had given that article the name "Judicial Approach". Now, in this article I intend to focus on the meaning of the word "authority" as described in various lexicons. While discussing the word "authority" the Hon'ble Supreme Court has referred to the meanings given in Concise Oxford Dictionary, Black's Law Dictionary, Corpus Juri's Secondum and words and phrases. I think it would be quite pertinent to explain/bring out the meaning of the word "authority" as described in other lexicons. Let us outline the same as follows:

01. Dictionary of Law by L.B.Curzon (Reprint edition 1997. Pitman Publishing. London). Page 31. Authority 1: Judicial decision or opinion expressed by an author of repute used on grounds of a statement of law (this refers to precedent, Stare decisis. or ratio dicidendi which has no application to the context with which we are dealing)

2. Rights bestowed by one person on another allowing full performance of an act, 3. A body exercising powers, e.g. A local authority (9.2) to our discussion.

Note of the Author : The explanations/meanings given under 2 and 3 above are relevant to our discussion.

02. The Pocket Law Lexicon by A.W.Motion (First Indian Reprint 1996. Sweet & Maxwell Limited. U.K. Published by Universal Book Traders. New Delhi) Page 43.

Authority 1: Power or right conferred on a person; usually by another to act on his behalf, so that the person authorised may do such act without incurring liability. See Agent 2. A Public body having certain powers of jurisdiction. (3) Decided cases opinions of text writers, and the like cited in arguments.

 Note: The explanations given under 1 and 2 above are relevant to the present context. Since the lexicon refers to the term Agent, it would be quite pertinent to  refer to the meaning of Agent. This is due to the fact that the Hon'ble Supreme Court has referred to the term "agent" in SAIL's case while interpreting appropriate government.

Page NO.18 and 19

Agent - One authorised (italics by the author) by another (the principal) to do an act or transact business for him, and to bind his principal within the limit of that authority. An agent may be general, to do all business of a particular kind; or special, to do one particular act, and according to the scope of his authority in his power to bind his principal. See Mercantile Agent ( not relevant here for our purpose)

Example: Just refer to a writ petition filed under Article 226 and 227 in an Hon'ble High Court against a Central Public Sector Undertaking, invariably, in all such petitions,Union of India is made a party by the Petitioner.

03. Osoborn's Concise Law Dictionary (Sweet & Maxwell Limited, U.K. Second Indian Reprint 2000. Published by Universal Law Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd..) Page 37.

Authority.(1) Delegated power; a right or rights invested in a person or body. An authority charged with the power and duty of exercising prescribed function., e.g., local planning authority. A person vested with authority is usually termed an agent, and the person for whom he acts, the principal. A bare authority is an authority which exists only for the benefit of the principal, which the agent must execute in accordance with his directions. An authority coupled with an interest is where the person vested with the authority has a right to exercise it, partly or wholly for his own benefit. A mere authority is revocable by the grant or at anytime; one coupled with an interest is not. See AGENT, (2) A decided case, judgement, textbook of repute or statutory enactment cited as an exposition or statement of the law. See PRECEDENT (this explanation i.e. (2) is not relevant to the present context).

Note: Since this lexicon refers to the term 'AGENT' while describing the meaning of the Authority, let us refer to the term.

Page 20: Agent

A person employed to act on behalf of another.: An act of an agent, done within the scope of his authority, binds his principal, if a person processes to contract an agent on behalf of another as principal, although without the latter's authority, the latter may subsequently ratify the contract, otherwise if a person represents himself to have authority to act as agent when he has none. he is liable for breach of an implied warranty of authority (Collen Vrs. Wright (1957) 7 E. & B. 301) Once an agent has brought his principal into contractual relations with another, he drops out and the principal sues or is sued on the contract. Agents are:

(1) Universal - Appointed to act for the principal in all matters, eg., where a party gives another a universal power of attorney. ..;,

(2) General - Appointed to act in transactions of a class eg., a banker solicitor. The scope of authority of such agent is the authority usually possessed by such agents, unless notice is given to third parties of some limitations.

(3) Special - Appointed for the particular purpose. The agent's scope of authority is the actual authority given to him.

04. Law Dictionary by PH Collin (Peter Collin Publishing Ltd.. Middlesex,lndian Reprint 1997 published by Universal Book Stall, New Delhi) Page 18

 Authority noun (a) official power given to someone to do something; he has no authority to act on our behalf; she was acting on the authority of the court; on whose authority was the charges brought? (b) local authority = section of elected government which runs a small area of a country; a court can give direction to a local authority; a decision of local authority pursuant to the powers and duties imposed upon it by the statutory code; the Bill aims at giving protection to children in the case of a local authority (c) authorities = the government or those who are in control.

5. Law Lexicon by P.Ramnanth Aiyer (Reprint edition 1996 published by Wadhwa and Company. Nagpur) Page 101

Authority: A person or persons, or a body, exercising power of command; generally in the plural; as the civil and military authorities, power or admitted right to command or to act, whether original or delegated; as the authority of a prince over subjects and of parents over children; the authority of an agent to act for his principal, An authority in general when it extends to all acts, or all connected with .-;, a particular employment, and special when confined to a single act.

 "AUTHORITY, is nothing but a power to do something, it is sometimes given by word, and sometime by writing; also it is by writ, warrant, commission, letter of authority that is given must be to do a thing lawful; for it be for the doing anything against law, as to beat a man, take away his goods, or disseise him of his hands this will not be a good authority to justify him that doth it" (Dyer 102, Tomlins Law Dic). AUTHORITY (In contracts) the lawful delegation of power by one person to another.

Authority ( In administrative law) is a body having jurisdiction in certain matters of a public nature. controlling revenue-authority; Local Authority: Municipal Authority; ;Police

"Authority" Person or Officer having authority as Cantonment - authority; Chief controlling revenue-authority; Local Authority : Municipal Authority, Police Authority,Road Authority,Telepgraph Authority Express Authority,Implied Authority.

06. New Webster's Dictionary of the English Language, College Edition (Indian Edition 1988, Published by Surjeet Publications. New Delhi),Page 105

 au-thor-i-ty, a-thor' I - te, n pl, au.thor.i.ties [M.E. Lo.Ft.authorite < L,auctor, author,] Power or right to command or act; dominion; control (underlined by the Author for emphasis); a person or persons exercising power or command; generally in the plural (th civil authorities); government or governmental agency; a reference source or expert in  a field to support a fact. opinion, action etc.. ( a person's authority for a statement); a ruling; proof; justification); credit or credibility ( a work of no authority); assurance ( to speak with authority).

07. Oxford English Dictionary Page 798

Authority Forms, 3-5 autorite, 4-6 autoryte, 5-6 auctorite, -itee, 5 autoryte, 5-6 auctoryte, 5-7 autoritie, auctoritie, ity, 6 auctorytye, ety, autoritee, auctoritie, -ytye, - ity, authorite, 6-7 authoritie, 6-8 f auctor AUTHOR sb and ITY. The Fr. was also spelt autorite from 12th to 16th c., and authorite in 16th ... the successive english forms]

1.a. Power or right to enforce obedience; moral or legal supremacy; the right to command or give an ultimate decision.

 b. in authority: in a position of power; in possession of power over others.

 2.a. Derived or delegated power;

3. Those in authority; the body or persons exercising power or command. (Formerly

4. Power to influence the conduct and actions of others; personal or practical influence.

 5. Power over or title to influence, the opinions of others, authoritative opinion; weight of judgement or opinion, intellectual influence .

6. Power to inspire belief, title to be believed; authoritative statement, weight or testimony. Sometimes weakened to: Authorship, testimony......etc. Those meanings/expressions which are relevant to the present context have been taken.The examples and evolution details have been excluded since the same may be monotonous top the readers.

Author’s Note : In the month of July, 2002 I had written a letter to Oxford English Dictionary Word & Language Services (OWLS), Oxford, U.K. asking them to provide the meaning of the word authority. The esteemed readers are aware that Oxford Dictionary is usually considered as the most authentic source of information about words. I had asked them the use of word authority in legal parlance. They have provided the reference from complete 20 - volume Oxford English Dictionary, which is being reproduced for the information of the esteemed readers:

On legal usage of the word,authority,OWLS has stated as follows:

"The complete 20 - volume Oxford English Dictionary is a historical dictionary which sets out the sense-development of words over the centuries, and illustrates that development with quotations of many different dates. I am enclosing a photocopy of the OED entry for Authority. This does not separate out the legal senses of the word, because they are so closely entwined with the more general senses."

08. Oxford Companion to Law by D.M.Walker (1980 edition) Page 101

Authority - First, legal power to do acts of a particular kind; in this sense used particularly of the powers conferred by a principal or his agent who may have express authority, implied authority, ostensible authority, or no authority. Second, a person or body having legal powers in a particular sphere e.g., licensing authority, local education authority, or planning authority.

Authority, legal: The power conferred by law to do something. backed by an implied threat of some legal sanction if the exercise of the power is impeded.Thus,a constable is by certain statute given authority to arrest without warrant; the person liable to be arrested cannot resist save on pain of being held to have resisted the police.

Authority, political: is concerned with the ethical, legal and practical bases on which power within a state rests with the organisation of that power. Ethically the question is on what grounds a state may claim allegiance from subjects and obedience to its law. These grounds include power, the need for public order, divine will, the consent of the governed, and the benefits experienced in practice. Legally the question one of the identity and recognition of the State and of the system of institutions, through which government is exercised, limited and controlled. Politically the concept of political authority is concerned with the forc

Authority of Law: A system or body of law and each individual principle or rule thereof can be said to have authority if it exists by virtue of and is drawn from one or more of the sources of law recognised by the constitution of the State in question and by the legal system itself as providing authoritative statement of principles and rules, which must be applied and followed. Thus, in the United Kingdom a rule of law laid down by statute or in a decision of a superior court has authority or in a decision of a superior court has authority; a statement in a student’s text book has no authority, even though it is correct. The determination of what kinds of sources yield authoritative precepts of law could be changed

      Furthermore, law has authority if and so far as principles and rules are accepted and to deregulate and control the conduct of the majority of the people, and they must be obeyed and followed, and that obedience to them is not a matter of choice. Disobedience is flouting the authority of the law and, if sufficiently widespread, destroys the authority of law.Thus a revolution destroys the authority of the law until some person or body enforces a new body of rules of law. An alternative view is that the authority of law depends on its conformity or otherwise to an ideal external standard such as morality, natural law, or Law of God. But uncertainty as to what the standard is or requires renders this view of practical utility.

 08. Blackie's Compact English Dictionary by Richard Cunliffe and Geoffrey Company Ltd, New Delhi under arrangement with Blackie & Sons Ltd ) Page 23

 Authority (a-thor-i-ti) n F autorite - L autoritas , f auctor (see prec,) Power to command; derived or delegated power, authorization; those in authority (often in pl.); influence, personal and intellectual title to be believed; a book, person etc., settling a question, author' itATIVE, a Imperative; having or proceeding from authority, author'itativeLY, adv. Au'thorize, vt. To sanction; to empower; to warrant, justify, authori'ZA'TION.

 10. Chambers 21st Century Dictionary (Reprint Edition 2000) page 86

Authority noun (authorities) 1 a.the power or right to control or judge others, or to have the final say in something; b this kind of power when it is delegated to someone else. 2 a position which has such a power or right. 3 (sometimes authorities) the person or people who have power, especially political or administrative # reported them to the authorities. expertise 5. well-informed confidence # Betty delivered lecture with authority. 6. an expert # an authority on birds. 7. a passage in a book used to support a statement. have it on authority to know about something from a reliable source. From French autorite. From Latin auctoritas, from auctor author.

THESAURIAL APPROACH

Thesaurus is a book which lists words and their synonyms according to sense or any book, ego a dictionary or encyclopedia, which gives information about a particular field, or quotations etc., says chambers 21st Century Dictionary. The aid of thesaurus is taken here to show that the words, authority and control are synonymous. Let us see what thesaurus say about the word authority.

01. ROGET'S INTERNATIONAL THESAURUS (William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. Delhi) Page 690. Glasgow, Indian Publication by Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi :

Authority: influence, wise man, validity, informant, credential, expert, prerogative, authorization, commission, commissioner, right; IN AUTHORITY, WITH AUTHORITY.

Page 768: Control:

Nouns moderation: influence, automatic, regulator, test, self-control, dominion, government, restraint, guardian spirit, spirit, IN CONTROL, UNDER CONTROL, in hand retained, verbs moderate,influence,pilot a plane, curb.............etc.

02. THE CONCISE OXFORD THESAURUS (Fourteenth Impression 2002),Page 45

Authority noun 1 have the authority to decide/a person of/in authority authorization, right, power, might,sanction,influence, force, control, (underlined by the Author for emphasis) , charge, prerogative, jurisdiction,rule, command,dominion, sovereignty,ascendancy,supremacy, inf say-so

2.He is an authority on oncology expert, specialist, professional, master, scholar, adopt, pundit, inf  Walking encyclopedia, bible. 3. quoting authorities used  source, reference, documentation,bibliography, citation, quotation, quote, expert, passage.

4. have his authority to act permission, authorisation, sanction, license (italicised by the Author) warrant: inf. say-so. 5. have on their authority that they were there testimony, evidence, witness, attestation, sworn statement, declaration, word, a vowel, deposition, profession.

      After going through the above. meanings and clarifications of the term "authority" the esteemed readers may be convinced that "authority" and "control" are synonymous terms. Let us frame a question to vivify the concept further.

Who can exercise control?

      The answer is, a person or body/having authority can only exercise control. The person or body which exercises control can be called as a Controller and this controller is nobody but an authority. In the result, a new compound word will emerge which is "authoritative control". Alternatively a person or body without authority cannot exercise control. The term "authority" in the definition of appropriate government under the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947 has not been used in a barren sense; it has been used in a cognate sense or to be more clear in a generic sense viz., authority to exercise control, to command or to regulate. Thus, the words  “authority" and "control" could be substituted since these words are complementary like fountain pen and ink or tea and sugar. This is what I visualize from the words, authority and control.

SOME REFLECTIONS IN INDUSTRIAL .JURISPRUDENCE - THE PROVINCE OF ' APPROPRIATE GOVERNMENT ' REDEFINED - AN INDIVIDUALISTIC ATTEMPT

PART III  : THE LEGAL APPROACH

Ajaya Kumar Samantaray M.Com,M.A.(Pub.Admn. ), M.A.(Economics), LLM.(Constitutional Law),P.G.D.B.A., P.G.D.M.P.E., N.C.E.S.(NPC), D.Com (IMC) 

PRELUDE : In the previous 2 articles, I have discussed the judicial approach and the lexicographical as well as Thesaurial approach. in lexicographical approach, I have made an attempt to substantiate as to how the words "authority" and "control" are synonymous i.e. under the authority of Central Government means under the control of Central Government. Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and Contract Labour (R&A) Act, 1970 are Central enactment's. The Central Government has enacted some other labour legislation's in which the term "appropriate government" has been defined. I think it would be quite pertinent to cite the definitions for a clear understanding of the term. When we proceed to compare certain definitions under certain law with that of the other law we resort to the principle of pari materia. Since we deal with the subject of labour, I think it would not be incongruent to have a comparison of the definition of appropriate government as provided under various labour laws or alternatively, when certain definitions under certain enactment's are unclear, we may resort to the principle of pari materia. Let us cite the definitions of appropriate government as provided under other enactment's which are as follows:

01. APPRENTICES ACT, 1961

      In this Act,Section 2(d) of the Act defines the term as follows:

"appropriate government" means -

(1) in relation to -

(a) the Central Apprenticeship Council, or

(aa) the Regional Boards, or

(aaa) the practical training of graduate or technicians apprentices or of technicians (vocational) apprentices, or;

(b) any establishment of any railway, major port, mine or oil field, or

(c) any establishment owned, controlled or managed by -

(i) the Central Government or a department of the Central Government,

(ii) a company in which not less than fifty one percent of the share capital is held by the Central Government or partly by that Government and partly by one or more State Governments,

(iii) a corporation (including a co-operative society) established by or under a central Act which is owned, controlled or managed by the Central Government,

the Central Government.

(The words owned, controlled and managed under (c) and (c) (iii) above have been italicized by the author for emphasis).

02. BUILDlNG AND  OTHER CONSTRUCTION WORKERS' (REGULATION OF EMPLOYMENT & CONDITIONS OF SERVICES) ACT, 1996

Section 2 (1) (a)  (i) (ii) and (iii) defines "appropriate Government" as follows:

(i)  in relation to an establishment (which employs building workers either directly or through a contractor) in respect of which the appropriate government under the Industrial Disputes Act. 1947 (14 of 1947) is the Central Government, the Central Government;

(ii) in relation to any such establishment, being a public sector undertaking as the Central Government may by notification specify which employs building workers either directly or through a contractor, the Central Government;

Explanation:- For the purpose of sub-clause (ii) "public sector undertaking" means any corporation established by or under any Central, State or Provincial Act (italicized by the author) or a Government company as defined in Section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956) which is owned, controlled or managed by the Central Government (the words owned, controlled and managed have been italicized by the author for emphasis)

(iii) in relation to any other establishment which employs building workers either directly or through a contractor, the government of the State in which that other establishment is situated.

03. CHILD AND ADOLESCENT LABOUR (PROHIBITION & REGULATION) ACT, 1986

Section 2 (i) of the Act defines "appropriate Governmnet" as follows:

"appropriate government" means, in relation to an establishment under the control of the Central Government or a railway administration or a major port or a mine or oil field, the Central Government, and in all other cases, the State Government.

04. EMPLOYEESPROVIDENTFUND & MISC.PROVISIONS ACT, 1952

Section 2(a)(I)&(ii) defines the term as under:

"appropriate government" means-

(i) in relation to an establishment belonging to or under the control of the Central Government or in relation to an establishment connected with a railway company, a major port, a mine or an oil field or a controlled industry, or in relation to an establishment having departments or branches in more than one State, the Central Government, and

(ii) in relation to any other establishment, the State Government.

05. EMPLOYEES STATE INSURANCE ACT, 1948

According to Section 2(1),

 "appropriate government" means in respect of establishments under the control of the Central Government (italicized by me) or a railway administration or a major port or a mine or oilfield, the Central Government and in  all other cases, the State Government.

06. EQUAL REMUNERATION ACT, 1976

Section 2 (a) (i) and (ii) defines the term, "appropriate government" in the following words:

(i) in relation to any employment carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government or a railway administration, or in relation to a banking company, a mine, oilfield or major port or any corporation established by or under a Central Act, the Central Government, and

 (ii) in relation to any other employment, the State Government;

07. INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES ACT, 1947

 Section 2 (a) (i) and (ii) defines appropriate government as follows:

"appropriate government" means - in relation to any Industrial Disputes concerning any industry carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government or by a railway company or concerning any such controlled industry as may be specified in this behalf by the Central Government or in relation to any Industrial Dispute concerning Dock Labour Board established under Section 5-A of the Dock Workers(Regulation of Employment) Act, 1948 (9 of 1948), or the Industrial Finance Corporation of India Ltd., formed and registered under the Companies Act, 1956, or the Employees' State Insurance Corporation established under Section 3 of the Employees' State Insurance Act 1948 (34 of 1948). or the Board of Trustees constituted under Section 3-A of the Coal Mines Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1948 (46 of 1948), or the Central Board of Trustees and the State Board of Trustees constituted under Section 5-A and Section 5-B, respectively of the Employees' Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 (9 of 1952), or the Life Insurance Corporation of India established under Section 3 of the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 ( 31 of 1956) or the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd., registered under the Companies Act, 1956 ( 1 of 1956) or the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation established under Section 3 of the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Act, 1961 ( 47 of 1961) or the Central Warehousing Corporation established under Section 3 of the Warehousing Corporation Act, 1962 ( 58 of 1962), or the Unit Trust of India established under Section 3 of the Unit Trust of India Act, 1963 (No.2 of 1963), or the Food Corporation of India established under Section 3 or a Board of Management established for two or more contiguous States under Section 16 of the Food Corporations Act, 1964, or the Airports Authority of India constituted under Section 3 of the Airports Authority of India Act, 1994 (55 of 1994), or a Regional Rural Bank established under Section 3 of the Regional Rural Banks Act, 1976 (21 of 1976) or the Export Credit and Guarantee Corporation Ltd., or the Industrial Reconstruction Corporation of India Ltd., or the Banking Service Commission established, under Section3 of the Banking Service Commission Act, 1975, or an Air Transport Services or a banking or an insurance company, a mine an oil field a cantonment board or a major port, the Central Government,

(ii) in relation to any other industrial dispute, the State Government..

08. INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYMENT (STANDING ORDERS)ACT, 1946

 "appropriate government" means in respect of industrial establishments under the control of the Central Government or a Railway administration or in a major port, mine or oil field, the Central Government, and m all other cases the State Government.

Section 2(1)(a)(i) and (ii) defines "appropriate government" as follows:

 09. INTER-STATE MIGRANT WORKERS (R.E.&C.S) ACT, 1979

Section 2 (1) (a) (i) and (ii)

 "appropriate government" means- (i) in relation to (1) 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 in this behalf by the Central Government, or (2) any establishment of any railway, cantonment board, major port, mine or oil field; or (3) any establishment of a banking or insurance company, the Central Government;

 (ii) in relation to any other establishment, the Government of the State in which that other establishment is situated

 10. MlNIMUM WAGES ACT,1948 :

Section 2(b) (i) and (ii) defines "appropriate government" as follows:

(b) "appropriate government" means-

(i) in relation to any scheduled employment carried on by or under the authority of the Central Government or a railway administration, or in relation to a mine, oil field or major port, ot;.any corporation established by a Central Act, the Central Government; and

(ii) in relation to any other scheduled employment, the State Government.

 11. PAYMENT OF BONUS ACT, 1965

Section 2(5) defines the term "appropriate government" as follows: "appropriate government" means - . (i) in relation to an establishment in respect of which the appropriate government under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14 of 1947), is the Central Government, the Central Government.

 (ii) In relation to any other establishment, the government of the State in which that other establishment is situated.

12. PAYMENT OF GRATUITY ACT, 1972

Section 2 of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 defines the term "appropriate government" as follows:

 (i) in relation to an establishment - (

a) belonging to, or under the control of, the Central Government,

(b) having branches in more than one State,

(c) of a factory belonging to, or under the control of, the Central Government. (

d) of a major port, mine, oil field or railway company, the Central Government.

(ii) in any other case, the State Government.

If the above definitions are examined we will find out that the concept of "appropriate government" revolves around two terms viz "authority" and "control" i.e. the establishment or industries which are carried on by the Central Government or under the authority of the Central Government or establishments or industries which are carried on under the control of Central Government, the appropriate government would be the Central Government as per the provisions of the respective Acts. The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, is in fact a pre-independence legislation, which was introduced in the House of Legislature in the year 1946. Since India was under authoritarian rule, I think, the then British Government used the word "authority" deliberately. What is an authoritarian rule? In order to understand the meaning of this compound term, it is quite essential to make out the meaning of the adjective authoritarian. The Lexicons define the word asfollows:

 01. Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English (Seventh Impressiol1 1995) Page 67 au.thor.it.ar.ian adj favouring complete obedience to authority (esp. that of the State) before personaI freedom (underlined by the Author for emphasis) : an authoritarian government, regime, doctrine o The school is run on authoritarian lines

02.Chambers 21st Century Dictionary (Reprint Edition 2000) Page 86

authoritarian in favour of, insisting on, characterized by, etc., strict authority, noun an authoritarian person authoritarianism noun

03. Random House Webster's Concise English Dictionary ( 1999 Edition, New York), Page 54.

 au'-thor'-i'-tar'-i'-an adj. 1. of favouring, or requiring complete obedience to authority; an authoritarian military code. 2. pertaining to or being a government in which authority is centered in one person or in a small group not constitutionally accountable to the people (underlined by me the Author emphasis) 3. exercising control over the will of others; an authoritarian parent - n 4. a person who favours or acts according to authoritarian principles - au, thor.I'tar.i.an.lsm, n

Author's Note: The word authority is a noun. Its adjective form is authoritarian. According to Random House Webster's Dictionary at description 3 (duly underlined by me) an authoritarian person or body is that person or body which exercises control over others. This gives us the meaning that authority means control and vice versa.

04. Law Dictionary P.H.Collin (Peter Collin Publishing Ltd,Middlesex, Indian Reprint 1997) Page 18. authoritarian adjective acting because of having power; authoritarian regime = government which rules its people strictly and does not allow anyone to oppose its decision.

authoritarianism noun theory that a regime must rule to its people strictly in order to be efficient:

       If the word authoritarian is analysed we will find that it is a concept where individual liberty is suppressed through strict governance. Since the British Rulers ruled our country in authoritarian style they had a penchant of using the word authority in the legislations enacted by them. Subsequently, in course of time, we borrowed the word "authority" to the subsequent labour legislation's viz., Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, Inter State Migrant Workers (RE&CS) Act, 1979 ,........ etc., apart from that, we substituted the definition of "appropriate government" in Contract Labour (R&A) Act, 1970, Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 and Building and Other Construction Workers (R.E.& C.S.) Act, 1995. While the concept "authority" went to various judicial forum i.e. the Hon'ble High Courts in our country, they interpreted the word "authority" differently and said that the words "authority" and "control" are not identical. The Central PSUs are under the Authority of Companies Act, 1956 or under the byelaws of the respective PSUs. But can we forget the promotional aspect of the Central PSUs ?, i.e. the promoter of the PSUs}! In respect of all the Central PSUs, the Central Government is the promoter or creator of the PSUs. For the administration of the PSUs, the Central Government is only authorized/empowered to appoint the Board of Directors and also the Chief Executives which means the Central Government though not directly, indirectly administers the Central PSUs through its nominees viz., Chief Executive and Board of Directors who are appointed under the warrant of His Highness, the President of India. Another facet being that all the Central PSUs are companies under Section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956. It is only the Central Government which enacts/amends and administers the Companies Act, 1956. The Company Law Board, which has been created under Section 10-E of Companies Act, 1956 is the supreme authority of the Companies including government companies. In spite of all the above situations, can we say that Central Government has no authority over the Central PSUs? This is a question, which needs be debated upon.

SOME REFLECTIONS IN INDUSTRIAL JURISPRUDENCE - THE PROVINCE OF APPROPRIATE GOVERNMENT ' REDEFINED - AN INDIVIDUALISTIC ATTEMPT

PART IV : THE CONSTITUTIONAL APPROACH

Ajaya Kumar Samantaray, M.Com,M.A.(Pub.Admn. ), M.A.(Economics), LLM.(Constitutional Law),P.G.D.B.A., P.G.D.M.P.E., N.C.E.S.(NPC), D.Com (IMC)

PRELUDE : In previous 3 parts of this article,I have attempted Judicial Approach, Lexicographical approach and Legal Approach. In the present article, which is final part, I intend to discuss constitutional approach. The esteemed readers are well aware of the fact that Constitution of India, 1950 is the bedrock of all Legislations in our country  and is the Supreme Law of the Land. All laws, including the Labour Legislations must conform to the Constitutional Standards failing which the laws so enacted, may be termed unconstitutional. In our Constitution, we have got 25 parts. Part III deals with Fundamental Rights, Part IV Directive Principles of State Policy and Part IV-A deals with Fundamental Duties. The Directive Principles of State Policies Part has a linkage to the Fundamental Rights part. Article 12 to Art. 35 come under Fundamental Rights and Arts. 36 to 51 come under Directive Principles. Article 41 deals with right to work, to education and to public assistance in certain cases, Art.42 provides for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief. Article 43 provides for living wage, etc., for workers and Art.43 A deals with workers participation in management of industries. Coming to the Fundamental Rights Part, Art. 14 deals with Equality before Law; Art.15 deals with Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth; Art.16 deals with equality of opportunity to matters of public employment; Art.19 deals with protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech and Art.21 provides for protection of life and personal liberty.

2. In the year 1982, the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India delivered a judgement in the case of People’s Union for Democratic Rights v.Union of India [1982 (2) L.L.N.642] wherein i it was held that non-observance of the provisions of the Contract Labour(Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, amounts to violation of fundamental right of life enshrined under Art.21 of the Constitution. The relevant portion of the judgement, in Para.11, at pages 655 and 565 is as follows :

“…………………….there is the complaint of non-observance of the provisions of the Contract Labour(Regulation and Abolition) Act.1970 and the Inter State Migrant Workmen(Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service)Act, 1979, and this is also in our opinion a compliant relating to violation of Art.21. This article has acquired a new dimension as a result of the decision of this Court in Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India[A.I.R.1978 S.V.597], and it has received most expansive interpretation in Francis Corali v.Administrator, Union Territory of Delhi [A.I.R. 1981 S.C.746], where it has been held by this Court that the right of life guaranteed under this article is not confined merely to the physical existence or to the use of any faculty or limb through which life is enjoyed or the soul communicates with outside world but it also includes within its scope and ambit the right to life with basic human dignity and the State cannot deprive anyone of this precious and invaluable right because no procedure by which such deprivation may be affected can ever be regarded as reasonable, fair and just. Now the rights and benefits conferred on the workmen employed by a contractor under the provisions of the Contract Labour(Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, and Inter-State Migrant Workmen(Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979, are clearly intended to ensure basic human dignity to the workmen and if the workmen are deprived of any of these rights and benefits to which they are entitled under the provisions of these two pieces of social welfare legislations, that would clearly be a violation of Art.21 by the Union of India, the Delhi Administration and the Delhi Development Authority which, as principal employers are made statutorily responsible for securing such rights and benefits to the workmen…………..”

3. In the year 1983, the Hon’ble Supreme Court dealt with the case of Labourers Working and Salal Hydro Project v. State of Jammu and Kashmir and others [ 1983 (2) L.L.N.20], in Criminal Writ Petition No.1179 of 1982 with regard to payment of minimum wages to the contract workers. The Hon’ble Supreme Court directed as follows:

“………… The Central Government must ensure, and that is the direction we give, that every payment of wages, whether it be normal wages or overtime wages, shall be made directly to the workmen, without any deductions, in the presence of an authorized representative of the National Hydro Electric Power Corporation or the Central Government. When payment of overtime wages is made to the workmen, the Central Government must ask its authorized representative to check up with reference to the overtime work done by the workmen, whether they are receiving the full amount of overtime wages due to them or any part of it is being taken away by the khatedars. This evil can to a large extent be eliminated if payment of overtime wages is made directly to the workmen instead of renting it through the khatedars. The Central Government will promptly carry out these directions which are being given by us and will make a report to this Court on or before 30 April, 1983, setting out what steps it has taken for carrying out these directions and how far they have been implemented. It is only if the officers of the National Hydro Electric Power Corporation and the Central Government are sensitive to the misery and suffering of workmen arising from their deprivation and exploitation that they will be able to secure observance of the labour laws and to improve the life conditions of the workmen employed in such construction projects.”

4. On 16 December 1983, a learned Full Bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in Writ Petition No.2135 of 1982, delivered a judgment in the case of Bandhua Mukti Morcha v. Union of India [1984 (2) L.L.N. 60]. A PIL was filed by Bandhua Mukti Morcha on the issue of bonded labour. In this land mark case Arts.32, 226, 21,23,29,41 and 42 were discussed in detail. When Art.32 of the Constitution can be invoked was thrust in this PIL. The Hon’ble Apex Court stated as follows:

         “ The power conferred by CI.(2) of Art.32 is in the widest terms(underlined and italicized by the author). It is not only the high prerogative writs of mandamus, Habeas corpus, prohibition, quo warranto and certiorari which can be used by the Supreme Court but also writs in the nature of these high prerogative writs. The provision conferring on the Supreme Court power to enforce the fundamental rights in the widest possible terms shows the anxiety of the Constitution makers not to allow any procedural technicalities to stand in the way of enforcement of fundamental rights.”

On the issue of bonded labour, the Hon’ble Court stated as follows:

         “Whenever it is shown that a labourers is made to provide forced labour, the Court would raise a presumption that he is required to do so in consideration of an advance or other economic consideration received by him and he is therefore, a bonded labourer. This presumption may be rebutted by the employer and also by the State Government if it so chooses but unless and until satisfactory material is produced for rebutting this presumption, the Court must proceed on the basis that 6the labourer is a bonded labourers entitled to the benefits of the provisions of the Act. The State Government cannot be permitted to repudiate its obligation to identify, release and rehabilitate the bonded labourers on the plea that through the concerned labourers may be providing forced labour. The State Government does not owe any obligation to them unless and until they show in an appropriate legal proceedings conducted according to the rules of adversary system of justice, that they are bonded labourers.”

5. In order to ameliorate the sufferings of the bonded labourers, the Hon’ble Supreme Court gave 21 directions for a detailed enquiry. The esteemed readers may kindly refer to the judgement for a thorough and detailed perusal.

6. The foregoing judgments of the Supreme Court give us an idea that while interpreting social welfare/labour legislations we cannot ignore the constitutional standards, viz. the fundamental rights enshrined in our Constitution. The labour legislations have been enacted by our Legislature keeping in view the constitutional standards so far as enforcement of Part III of the Constitution is concerned.

7. In Part II of this Article, I have made an attempt to give the lexical meaning of the word “authority” as has been used in various labour laws while defining “appropriate Government”. The word “authority” denotes “power” or “control.” I have already stated hereinbefore that while interpreting labour legislation we cannot ignore the provisions enshrined in our Constitution. Applying this maxim/logic, let me say that while interpreting the concept of appropriate Government as defined in various labour laws we have to refer to the Constitution of India. While enacting a labour legislation, the Legislature refers to the source of power/authority provided in the Constitution. This is due to the fact that the Constitution of India is the source of legislative power.The clause “under the authority of Central Government” refers to the source of power and this power is derived from Article 246 of the Constitution, which comes under Part XI of the Constitution, viz., relation between the Union and the States. For a better understanding I reproduce the proviso of Article 246 which is as follows :

246.- Subject-matter of laws made by Parliament by the Legislaturers of States.- (1) Notwithstanding anything in Cls.(2) and (3), Parliament has exclusive

power to make laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated in List I in the Seventh Schedule (in this Constitution referred to as the Union List)

(2) Notwithstanding anything in Cl.(3), Parliament, and, subject to Cl.(I), the Legislature of any State also, have power to make laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated in List III in the Seventh Schedule( in this Constitution referred to as the Concurrent List),

(3) Subject to Cls.(1) and (2), the Legislature of any State has exclusive power to make laws for such State or any part thereof with respect to any of the matters enumerated in List II in the Seventh Schedule(in this Constitution referred to as the State List).

(4) Parliament has power to make laws with respect to any matter for any part of the Territory of India not included in a State notwithstanding that such matter is a matter enumerated in the State List.

8.     Now we will go to the industries/establishments as enumerated in S.2(a)(i) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, and see the relevant entry in List I of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, which is as follows :

Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 Relevant entry in List of the Constitution

1. Railway Company Entry No.22 Railways.

2. Controlled Industries Entry No.52: Industries, the control of which by the Union is declared by Parliament by law to be expedient in the public interest(the readers may refer to Industries(Development and Regulation) Act, 1951.

3. Dock Labour Board Entry No.27: Ports declared by or under law made by Parliament or existing law to be major ports, including their delimitation and the constitution and powers of port authorities therein.

4. Industrial Finance Corporation of India Ltd. Entry No.44: Incorporation, regulation and winding up of Corporations, whether trading or not, with objects not confined to one State, but not including Universities.

5. Life Insurance Corporation of India Entry No.47: Insurance.

6. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd., Entry No.53 Regulation and Development of oil fields and mineral oil resources; petroleum and petroleum product; other liquids and substances declared by Parliament by law to be dangerously inflammable.

7.Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Entry No.47(See Sl.No.5 Supra)

8. Central Warehousing Corporation Entry No.43(See Sl.No.4 Supra)

9.Unit Trust of India Entry Nos.43 and 44(See Sl.No.4 supra)

10.Food Corporation of India Entry No.43(See Sl.No.4 supra)

11.Airports Authority of India Entry No.29: Airways aircraft and air navigation; provision of aerodromes, regulation and organization of air traffic and of aerodromes, provision for aeronautical education and training provided by States and other agencies.

12. Regional Rural Banks Entry No.45:Banking.

13. Export Credit and Guarantee Corporation Ltd., Entry No.41: Trade and Commerce with foreign countries; import and export across customs frontiers; definition of customs frontiers.

14.Industrial Reconstruction Corporation of India Ltd., Entry No.44(See Sl.No.4 supra)

15. Banking Service Commission Entry No.45: Banking.

16. Air Transport Service Entry No.29(See Sl.No.11 supra)

17.Banking Company Entry No.45: Banking

18. Insurance Company Entry No.47:Insurance

19.Mine Entry No.54: Regulation of mines and mineral development to the extent to which such regulation and development under the control of union is declared by Parliament by law to be expedient in the public interest.

20.Oil field Entry No.53:(See Sl.No.06 supra)

21. Cantonment Board Entry No.3: Delimitation of cantonment areas, local self-Government in such areas, the constitution and powers within such areas of cantonment authorities and the regulation of house accommodation(including the control of rents) in such areas.

22.Major Port Entry No.27(See Sl.No.3 supra)

23.Employees State Insurance Corporation Entry No.47 : Insurance and Entry No.44(See Sl.No.04 supra)

24.Board of Trustees constituted under S.5A of Coal Mines Provident Fund Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1948. Entry No.44(See Sl.No.04 supra) and Entry No.54 (See Sl.No.19 supra)

25.Board of Trustees Constituted under Ss.5A and 5B of Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952. Entry No.44(See Sl.No.04 supra)

9. The entries in List I of the Seventh Schedule shows that only Central Government has the power/authority to make law on the subjects. When the Central Government makes any law on any subject, obviously, it is only the Central Government that can administer that law and it is only the Central Government which can make rules for the administration of the Law/Act. This rule-making power and administration of the law is “authority.”

10. The Food Corporation of India case: In the year 1985, the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India; in the case of Food Corporation of India; held that “appropriate Government” pertaining to the regional offices and their warehouses in the different States were the State Governments and not the Central Government” [1985 (2) L.L.N. 30]. Following this judgment, the Central Government amended the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and inserted Food Corporation of India in S.2(a)(i) of the Act. It may please be noted here that the subject “food stuffs” comes under the Concurrent List  of Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India at Entry 33 (b), viz., food stuffs, including edible oil seeds and oils. For this subject both Central as well as State Governments are empowered to make law/s. In such a situation, only the Government which makes/enacts the law and administers it by making rules, will have authority to administer the respective law. Such will be the situation in case of Electricity, Factories, Boilers, Newspapers, Books and Printing Presses, which appear in List III (the Concurrent List). Take the example of electricity. Under electricity Laws, both State Governments as well as the Central Government can make law. At Central level we have got electricity Corporations/companies, viz., NTPC Ltd., NHPC Ltd.,PGCIL, NJPC Ltd., North Eastern Power Corporation Ltd., and Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd. Similarly, at State level we have got State Power Grid Corporations, Electricity Boards and State Power Corporations and State Power Transmission or Grid Corporations which are companies within the meaning of S.617 of the Companies Act, 1956. Though electricity is the concurrent subject and both Central as well as State Government can make law/s, we cannot forget Entry 43 of Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India, viz. Incorporation, Regulation and winding up trading corporations, including banking insurance and financial Corporation but not including co-operative societies. At the same time we have also to refer to Entry 44 of the Seventh Schedule, viz., Incorporation, regulation and winding up of Corporations, whether trading or not, with objects and not confined to one State but not including Universities. From this it is clear that for the multi State Corporations only the Central government can make law/s since those Corporations function under the authority and also control of the Central Government. The respective Corporations are no doubt accountable to their administrative ministries and also to the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India which is a constitutional authority under Art.148 of the Constitution. The Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament as well as the Parliamentary Committee on Power also have the access to the working, functioning and financial transactions of the Central Power Corporations or any Corporation established by or under any Central Act.

11. There could be an argument that for joint stock companies appropriate Government would be the State Government. In this connection it would be quite pertinent to refer to Entry 44 of List I of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. Apart from that, Registrar of the Companies is the authority for the joint stock companies who is appointed by the Central Government in the Department of Companies Affairs. There is also a service named as Central Company Law Service of which, the Registrar is a member. In addition to this, at the Apex Level we have company Law Board (Now NCLT) which is a creature/statutory body under the Companies Act, 1956. It is the Central Government, which is only empowered to enact/amend/repeal or vary the Companies Act. Under such situations, the esteemed readers may decide the meaning of the word “authority” and “control” as contemplated under various labour laws.

12.Conclusion : On 8 July, 2002 a learned Full Bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, in the case of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. v. Hindustan Aero Canteen K.Sangh and others in Civil Appeal No.3659 of 2002; has held that in respect of Hindustan Aeronautics, Ltd., the appropriate Government would be Central Government. In this judgment, the Hon’ble Supreme Court has referred to the judgement in Steel Authority of India Ltd. and others v. National Union Water Front Workers and others [ 2001 (4) L.L.N. 135]. The relevant portion is as follows:

         “The Constitution Bench recently has considered the relevant provisions of the Contract Labour(Regulation and Abolition) Act in the case of Steel Authority of India and others v.National Union Water Front Workers and others[2001(4)L.L.N.135], and has come to the conclusion that the “appropriate Government” will be the Government which exercises control and authority over the concerned organization. It is undisputed that the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., is an Undertaking of the Central Government, it is the Central Government which exercises full control over the same.”

13. In this case the State Government had issued a licence to the Contractor of Hindustan Aeronautics, Ltd., Adverting to this, the Hon’ble Supreme Court stated as follows:

         “Issuance of licence by the State Government is no criteria to come to the conclusion that the State Government would be the ‘appropriate Government.’ The impugned judgment of the High Court therefore is, on the face of it, erroneous in view of the Constitution Bench division of this Court referred to earlier. We, therefore, set aside the impugned judgment of the High Court and held that the Central Government is the "appropriate Government.”

14.         Following the judgement, all the defence undertakings, viz., Bharat Electronic, Ltd., Bharat Earth Movers Ltd., etc., would come under the purview of Central Government under Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970. Since the department of Defence Production in the Ministry of Defence exercises control over the above Central PSUs. Another dimension of the case being that the subject “Defence” comes under Union List in Entry Nos. 1,4 and 5 which is as follows :

         Entry 1:   Defence of India and every part thereof including preparation for defence and all such acts as may be conducive in times of war to its prosecution and after its termination to  effective demobilization.

         Entry 4:  Naval, Military and Air force works.

         Entry 5:  Arms, firearms, ammunitions and explosives.

15.         From the above examples, I am of the considered opinion that for the subjects under Union List of Seventh Schedule, Central Government will only be the appropriate Government under Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 and Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970. So far as the Concurrent List (List III) of Seventh Schedule is concerned, the Government which makes the law for the subject/s under that List (List III), that Government would be the “appropriate Government.” For Food Corporation of India, Central Warehousing Corporation, National Highway Authority of India, National Co-operative Development Corporation and National Dairy Development Board, Central Government would be the “appropriate Government.” Since these Corporations / bodies / Boards have been created by the Central Government under the respective Acts.

16. In Air India Statutory Corporation v. United Labour Union and others [ 1997 (1) L.L.N. 75 ], the Hon’ble Supreme Court interpreted the concept of “appropriate Government” in terms of Art.12 of the Constitution, viz. State, Agency or Instrumentality of State and other authorities which has been overruled by the learned Constitution Bench in Steel Authority of India 's case [2001 (4) L.L.N. 135 ]. What I feel being that the concepts “other authorities”, “agency or instrumentality” or “ State” have been used in organic sense, viz., the State or other Authorities or Agency or instrumentalities are various organs of the Union of India. To be more clear, Art.12 of the Constitution gives us the institutional form of organizations / bodies existing in the Dominion of India which may be proper noun or in some cases common noun. But the word authority used in labour legislations have been used as abstract noun qualifying power, viz., authority to direct/control/govern. The concept , authority denotes flow of power or the will of a sovereign to do certain acts, as I feel. Alternatively, the concept of “command” can also be substituted for authority which would be used in functional sense or to accomplish certain State functions. I hope, I have been able to certain extent to convince the esteemed readers on the word “authority.” I will be grateful if the esteemed readers send their opinion on this article.

Disclaimer : The opinion expressed in this article is not the opinion of this journal. – The opinions are of the author’s own and should not be substituted for professional advice. The author has merely made an individualist attempt to bring out certain issues which he thinks is of relevance to the subject.

Gratitude : The author express his heartfelt thanks to Smt. Prasanna Prenath P.A. to Dy.CLC (C) (SZ), Bangalore, who has taken the pain for preparing the entire set of Articles.The sequel of four articles was prepared in the year 2002 while this Author was working as Assistant Labour Commissioner (Central),Bangalore.