Section 9 of the Industrial Disputes Act 1947 - Finality of Orders Constituting Boards and Other Authorities
Section 9 protects specified Government appointment orders and certain proceedings or settlements from being invalidated merely because of the procedural circumstances expressly covered by the section. It addresses appointment orders for statutory authorities, vacancies or defects in Boards and Courts, delayed conciliation settlements, and casual or unforeseen absence of Board members.
- Specified Government orders appointing members or presiding officers cannot be called in question in the manner stated in sub-section (1).
- An act or proceeding before a Board or Court cannot be questioned merely because of a vacancy or defect in its constitution.
- A conciliation settlement is not invalid merely because it was reached after expiry of the period referred to in Section 12(6) or Section 13(5).
- A settlement before a Board is protected from invalidity caused only by casual or unforeseen absence of a member during a stage of proceedings, where the statutory signing requirement in sub-section (3) is satisfied.
Section 9 - Finality of orders constituting Boards and related protections
Appointments protected by Section 9(1)
The first part of Section 9(1) concerns Government orders appointing specified statutory functionaries. The provision expressly refers to the Chairman or another member of a Board or Court, and the Presiding Officer of a Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal.
What are a Board and Court under the Act?
A Board means a Board of Conciliation constituted under Section 5. Section 5 permits the appropriate Government to constitute a Board of Conciliation for promoting settlement of an industrial dispute.
A Court means a Court of Inquiry constituted under Section 6. Such a Court may be constituted by the appropriate Government for inquiring into a matter appearing to be connected with or relevant to an industrial dispute.
Labour Court, Tribunal and National Tribunal
Labour Courts are constituted under Section 7 for adjudication of industrial disputes relating to matters specified in the Second Schedule and for performing other functions assigned under the Act. Tribunals are constituted under Section 7A for adjudication of industrial disputes relating to matters in the Second or Third Schedule and for other assigned functions. National Tribunals are constituted by the Central Government under Section 7B for industrial disputes involving questions of national importance or disputes of the statutory inter-State character described in that provision.
Vacancy or defect in constitution of Board or Court
The second limb of Section 9(1) protects acts and proceedings before a Board or Court from challenge merely on the ground that a vacancy exists or that there is a defect in the constitution of the Board or Court. The wording is specific to the ground identified by Parliament and should be read together with the provisions governing constitution and vacancies, including Sections 5, 6 and 8.
Settlement reached after the conciliation period
Section 9(2) prevents a conciliation settlement from becoming invalid solely because it was reached after expiry of the period referred to in Section 12(6) or Section 13(5). Section 12 deals with duties of Conciliation Officers, while Section 13 deals with duties of a Board. Section 9(2) therefore preserves the settlement against the particular timing objection specified in the provision.
Meaning of settlement
The expression "settlement" is defined in Section 2(p). It includes a settlement arrived at in the course of conciliation proceedings and also a written agreement between employer and workmen arrived at otherwise than in conciliation proceedings where the statutory requirements concerning signing and forwarding copies are fulfilled.
Casual or unforeseen absence of a Board member
Section 9(3) deals specifically with a settlement reached in conciliation proceedings before a Board. Where the report of that settlement is signed by the Chairman and all other members, the settlement is not invalid merely because a member, including the Chairman, was casually or unexpectedly absent during a stage of the proceeding. This provision protects the settlement against the particular absence-related defect described in the subsection.
Relationship with Section 8 - Filling of vacancies
Section 8 provides for filling specified vacancies in the office of the Presiding Officer of a Labour Court, Tribunal or National Tribunal, or in the office of the Chairman or another member of a Board or Court. Section 9 complements that framework by addressing the finality of specified appointment orders and the effect of a vacancy or constitutional defect on acts or proceedings before a Board or Court.
Legislative history
The present Section 9 was substituted by the Industrial Disputes (Amendment and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1956 (Act 36 of 1956), with effect from 10 March 1957.
Official sources
Refer to the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 on India Code and the Ministry of Labour and Employment copy of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
This article presents the statutory position within the stated historical cut-off. The exact statutory text, applicable amendments and relevant judicial decisions should be checked for a particular dispute.