The Supreme Court allowed the civil appeal filed by Appellants challenging the reference of industrial dispute to Industrial Court, Aurangabad -- The Court found that Aurangabad Mazdoor Union directly approached Conciliation Officer on 11.06.2019 without first making any demand on the Management -- This procedural irregularity rendered the conciliation proceedings and subsequent reference invalid under Section 12 of Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 -- The Court quashed the reference order dated 28.01.2020 and remanded the matter for fresh consideration after proper compliance with statutory procedures
The Supreme Court examined the maintainability of conciliation proceedings initiated by Aurangabad Mazdoor Union under Section 12 of Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (ID Act) -- The Appellant-Management challenged the reference order dated 28.01.2020 passed by Deputy Labour Commissioner under Section 10(1) and Section 12(1) of ID Act -- The Court held that conciliation proceedings were improperly initiated as the Union directly approached Conciliation Officer without first making demand on Management -- The reference was quashed due to procedural irregularity in conciliation initiation -- The judgment emphasizes strict compliance with statutory procedures under ID Act before industrial dispute adjudication
The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and quashed the reference order dated 28.01.2020 -- The Court held that conciliation proceedings were improperly initiated as the Union directly approached Conciliation Officer without first making demand on Management -- The matter was remanded for fresh consideration after proper compliance with statutory procedures under Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
Citation: 2026 LawText (SC) (01) 75
Case Number: Civil Appeal No. of 2026 [@ S.L.P. (Civil) No. 9970 of 2023]
Date of Decision: 2026-01-27
Case Title: The Issue of maintainability of conciliation proceedings and consequential reference of industrial dispute under Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
Before Judge: PANKAJ MITHAL J. , S.V.N. BHATTI J.
Equivalent Citations: 2026 INSC 87
Advocate(s): Mr. CU Singh, Mr. Sandeep Deshmukh
Appellant: M/S Premium Transmission Private Limited
Respondent: The State of Maharashtra and Others
Nature of Litigation: Civil appeal challenging reference of industrial dispute to Industrial Court
Remedy Sought: Appellant-Management sought quashing of reference order dated 28.01.2020 and declaration that conciliation proceedings were improperly initiated
Filing Reason: Management challenged the reference order contending that conciliation proceedings were initiated without prior demand notice as required under Section 12 of Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
Previous Decisions: Deputy Labour Commissioner referred industrial dispute to Industrial Court, Aurangabad on 28.01.2020 -- High Court dismissed Management's writ petition challenging the reference
Issues: Whether conciliation proceedings were properly initiated under Section 12 of Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 Whether the reference of industrial dispute to Industrial Court was valid given the procedural irregularities
Submissions/Arguments: Management contended that Union directly approached Conciliation Officer without first making demand on Management as required under Section 12 Union argued that labour contracts were sham and bogus arrangements to deny workers benefits
Ratio Decidendi: Conciliation proceedings under Section 12 of Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 require prior demand notice to employer before approaching Conciliation Officer -- Reference of industrial dispute under Section 10(1) is invalid if conciliation proceedings are initiated without complying with statutory procedures -- Industrial dispute maintainability depends on strict adherence to procedural requirements under the Act
Judgment Excerpts: The foremost objection raised by the Management is that the forum of a Conciliation Officer is directly approached by the Union, and no demand was made on the Management before actually availing the mechanism of conciliation under Section 12 of the ID Act The Civil Appeal arises out of the preliminary objection on the maintainability of the conciliation proceedings and the consequential reference of the industrial dispute
Procedural History: 11.06.2019: Union directly approached Conciliation Officer without prior demand notice -- 19.06.2019: Management raised preliminary objection about improper initiation of conciliation -- 22.01.2020: Conciliation Officer submitted failure report -- 28.01.2020: Deputy Labour Commissioner referred dispute to Industrial Court -- 2020: Management filed Writ Petition No. 7158 of 2020 challenging reference order -- 2023: Special Leave Petition filed before Supreme Court -- 2026: Supreme Court heard and decided the civil appeal
