HC Says Employers Necessary Parties in Writs on Minimum Wages Act

Case Details: Karnataka Employers’ Association vs. All India Trade Union Congress - [2025] 178 taxmann.com 565 (HC - Karnataka)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• N.V. Anjaria, CJ.
•  K.V. Aravind, J.
• S.S. Naganand, Sr Adv., B.C. Prabhakar & Subba Rao G.S., Advs. for the Appellant
• V. Prakash, Sr Adv., K.B. Narayana Swamy, Adv. & Smt. Niloufer Akbar, AGA for the Respondent

Facts of the Case

In the instant case, Notification dated 28.07.2022 was issued by the Government under Section 3(1)(b) read with Section 5(1)(b) of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, whereby minimum rates of wages for employment in a Foundry with or without a machine shop came to be revised.

Respondent-Employees Union challenged the said notification, alleging that the rates of minimum wages proposed in the Notification did not have a scientific or realistic basis. The Single Judge vide the impugned order set aside the said Notification.

However, when the Notification was challenged in a writ petition, the respondent-employee unions did not make the appellant-employer’s union a party. They were an interesting category of persons to be affected. Further, they had made representations, and they submitted their suggestions and objections before the Advisory Board at its different meetings.

However, in the writ petition, the respondent-employees’ Union did not make the appellants parties, which led to the Notification being set aside in the absence of the appellants and without considering the version of the employers, as appreciated by the Single Judge.

High Court Held

The High Court held that the appellant-employers’ union was required to be treated as a proper party and that they ought to have been heard. Therefore, the appeal against the order of the Single Judge was to be allowed, and the proceedings of the writ petition were to be remitted back to the Single Judge for his decision afresh in accordance with the law.

List of Cases Reviewed

• Order by Single Judge in writ petition No.3632 of 2023 dated 26.09.2023 (Para 7) partly allowed

List of Cases Referred to

• Workmen v. Reptakos Brett & Co. Ltd. (1992) 1 SCC 290 (para 3)
• Federation of Okhla Industries Association v. Lt. Governor of Delhi (2018) III LLJ 622 Delhi (para 4.1)
• English Newspaper (P.) Ltd. v. Union of India AIR 1958 SC 578 (para 4.2.1)
• Indian Express Newspaper (Bombay) (P.) Ltd. v. Bennett Coleman and Co. Ltd. AIR 1986 SC 515 (para 5.3)
• Mixnam Properties Ltd. v. Chertsey U.D.C. (1964 (1) QB 214 (para 5.3.2)
• Vishakapatnam Port Trust v. Ram Bahadur Takur (P.) Ltd. (1997) 4 SCC 582 (para 5.4)
• Swadeshi Cotton Mills v. Union of India (1981) 1 SCC 664 (para 5.7.1).