KSLU Solved Question Papers
Labour Law I
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 5
2021 Oct (100 marks) Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 5 Labour Law I 2021 Oct (100 marks) Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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Model answers written and edited by the munotes.in editorial desk.
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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2021 Oct (100 marks) examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2021 Oct (100 marks) examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2021 Oct (100 marks) examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 100 · 15 questions answered
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1Explain the definition of "Appropriate Government" under Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 with reference to decided cases.[16]
Answer
For full marks, cover: the functions the Industrial Disputes Act 1947 gives the appropriate Government and why a wrong Government makes a reference void; the structure of section 2(a): the Central Government's field in clause (i) and the State Government's residual field in clause (ii), with the contract labour proviso; the cases in order: Heavy Engineering Mazdoor Union (1969), Hindustan Aeronautics (1975) and the Constitution Bench in Steel Authority of India (2001); the 2010 amendment and what it changed; the territorial question (which State); a table of the cases; the weaknesses of the test; the position under the Industrial Relations Code 2020; a conclusion.
Why the definition matters
Most powers under the Industrial Disputes Act 1947 belong to the "appropriate Government". It may require a works committee (section 3). It appoints conciliation officers and constitutes Boards of Conciliation and Courts of Inquiry (sections 4 to 6). It constitutes Labour Courts and Industrial Tribunals (sections 7 and 7A). It refers disputes for adjudication (section 10) and publishes awards (section 17).
So the question "which Government?" comes before every other question. A reference made by a Government that is not the appropriate one is made without power. The award that follows is then open to challenge, however sound it is on the merits.
The structure of section 2(a)
Section 2(a) has two clauses. Clause (i) lists the cases where the Central Government is the appropriate Government. Clause (ii) gives every other dispute to the State Government. So the method is to test clause (i) first, and fall back on clause (ii).
Clause (i): the Central Government's field
The Central Government is the appropriate Government for a dispute concerning the following.
- An industry carried on "by or under the authority of the Central Government". This is the phrase the cases below interpret.
- An industry carried on by a railway company.
- A controlled industry specified by the Central Government.
- Bodies named in the clause. These include the Employees' State Insurance Corporation, the Central and State Boards of the EPF scheme and the Life Insurance Corporation. The Food Corporation of India, the Airports Authority of India and Regional Rural Banks are also named.
- Sectors named in the clause. These are an air transport service, a banking or insurance company, a mine, an oil-field, a Cantonment Board and a major port.
- Since 2010, any company in which "not less than fifty-one per cent. of the paid-up share capital is held by the Central Government". It also covers any corporation established by a central law, a Central public sector undertaking, and their subsidiaries and autonomous bodies.
Clause (ii): the State Government's residual field
For "any other industrial dispute" the State Government is the appropriate Government. Since 2010 the clause expressly includes State public sector undertakings, their subsidiaries and autonomous bodies.
A proviso deals with contract labour. Take a dispute between a contractor and the contract labour he employs. The appropriate Government is the one that controls the establishment where the dispute first arose.
The cases on "by or under the authority of"
Heavy Engineering Mazdoor Union v. State of Bihar, AIR 1970 SC 82. Heavy Engineering Corporation at Ranchi was a company whose entire share capital was held by the Central Government. The Bihar Government referred a dispute of its workmen to a Tribunal. The union argued that only the Central Government could refer it. The Supreme Court held that "under the authority of" means a relationship of principal and agent. The company carried on its business under its own memorandum and articles, as a separate legal person. Owning all its shares did not make it the Central Government's agent. So the State Government was the appropriate Government.
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. v. Workmen, (1975) 4 SCC 679. All the company's shares were owned by the Central Government. Its memorandum and articles gave the Central Government a vital role. The West Bengal Government referred a dispute of workmen at the Barrackpore branch. The company argued that the Central Government, or Karnataka where its divisional office was, was the appropriate Government. The Supreme Court applied Heavy Engineering. It made no difference that only the Government could carry on this industry. No public company, even one wholly owned by the Government, had been brought within the definition.
Steel Authority of India Ltd. v. National Union Water Front Workers, (2001) 7 SCC 1. A Constitution Bench considered the same words, which the Contract Labour Act adopts from section 2(a). A 1997 decision of the Court had treated Central Government companies as falling under the Central Government. The Constitution Bench overruled that view. A company may be an instrumentality of the State under Article 12 of the Constitution. That does not by itself mean its industry is carried on under the Central Government's authority. That authority may come from a statute, from agency, or from a delegation of power. Whether it exists is a question of fact in each case.
The 2010 amendment
The case law left many Central public sector companies with the State Government. The Industrial Disputes (Amendment) Act 2010 (Act 24 of 2010) changed the result. A company with at least fifty-one per cent Central shareholding, and every Central public sector undertaking, now fell expressly within clause (i).
The agency test still matters. It decides cases of bodies not named in the clause and not caught by the share rule.
Which State? The territorial question
When the State Government is the appropriate Government, the next question is which State. Hindustan Aeronautics answers it. The Barrackpore branch worked as a separate unit. The workers were paid there and were controlled by officers stationed there. Their grievances and the cause of action arose there. Any disturbance of industrial peace would be at Barrackpore. So the West Bengal Government, not Karnataka, was the appropriate Government.
Applying the test: a worked example
Suppose workmen at a Bengaluru plant raise a dispute with a company in which the Central Government holds sixty per cent of the shares. Before 2010 the answer turned on agency. Unless a statute or a delegation gave the company the Central Government's authority, the Karnataka Government was the appropriate Government, as in Hindustan Aeronautics. From 2010 the share rule decides it at once. The company falls within clause (i), so the Central Government must make the reference.
The cases at a glance
| Case | Facts | Held |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy Engineering Mazdoor Union (1969) | Central Government owned all shares; Bihar referred | State Government; "under the authority of" means agency |
| Hindustan Aeronautics (1975) | wholly owned company; branch in West Bengal | State Government, and the State where the branch is |
| Steel Authority of India (2001) | Central companies under the Contract Labour Act | Article 12 status is not enough; authority is a question of fact |
| Act 24 of 2010 | statutory change | 51 per cent companies and CPSUs go to the Centre |
Weaknesses of the test
- Uncertainty. A test of fact meant that workers often did not know which Government to approach. A reference by the wrong Government could be lost after years of litigation.
- Form over substance. A company fully owned and controlled by the Centre still went to the State Government, because the corporate form hid the control.
- Many States, one employer. An all-India company could face references from several State Governments, each on its own branch.
The 2010 amendment met the first two points for most public sector bodies. The third remains, because the place of the dispute still decides which State acts.
Where the law stands now
The 1947 Act was repealed on 21 November 2025 by section 104 of the Industrial Relations Code 2020. Section 2(b) of the Code defines the appropriate Government on the same plan. It adds metro railways and telecommunication to the Central list, and covers the contractors of Central establishments. Its Explanation keeps a Central public sector undertaking with the Central Government even if the Central holding later falls below fifty per cent.
Conclusion. Under section 2(a) the Central Government was the appropriate Government for industries it carried on or authorised. It was also the appropriate Government for railway companies, controlled industries and the bodies and sectors named. Every other dispute went to the State Government of the place where it arose. The courts read "under the authority of" narrowly, as agency, in Heavy Engineering and Hindustan Aeronautics. Steel Authority of India confirmed that Article 12 status is not enough. Parliament's 2010 amendment, now carried into the Code, moved Central public sector companies to the Centre.
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