Once a company is nationalised and its operations are vested in the Central Government, any industrial dispute concerning such company falls within the jurisdiction of the Central Government: Calcutta High Court

The dispute concerned in WPA 2477 of 2012, was the maintainability of a reference made by the State Government of West Bengal to the Second Industrial Tribunal regarding disciplinary action taken against a workman by M/s. Braithwaite & Co. Ltd. a company nationalised under the Braithwaite & Co. (India) Limited (Acquisition & Transfer of Undertaking) Act, 1976. The Tribunal had upheld the State Government’s jurisdiction, based on a notification dated July 3, 1998, which had made the State Government, the appropriate government under the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (“IDA”).

The Calcutta High Court considering the foundational principle of industrial jurisprudence that the test for determining the “Appropriate Government” under the IDA hinges not on administrative notifications alone, but on whether an industry is carried on “by or under the authority of the Central Government.” laid down by the constitution bench in Steel Authority of India Ltd. v. National Union Waterfront Workers, observed that Braithwaite & Co. had been carrying on its industry under the authority of the Central Government since its nationalisation in the year 1976, and all its workmen by operation of law under Section 12(1) of the nationalisation statute became Central Government employees. Thus, regardless of the date of reference or any notification, the State Government had no jurisdiction to refer the dispute.

The Court accordingly set aside the Tribunal’s and directed the Central Government to make a fresh reference in respect of the dispute within 60 days.

This decision highlights the primacy of constitutional and statutory interpretation over executive notifications in determining jurisdiction, and reinforces the authoritative test for identifying the “Appropriate Government” under the ID Act in cases involving public sector undertakings. Judgement passed on April 9, 2025.