Pankaj Soni v. State of Chhattisgarh
Case brief
What is this about?
Chhattisgarh HC (Bilaspur), WPC 5329/2025, decided 13.10.2025, Arvind Kumar Verma, J. Petitioner Pankaj Soni sought mandamus under Article 226 for a Special Inquiry into nine trade unions' alleged incorrect annual audit reports, non-maintenance of bank accounts/statutory books, misuse of union funds, and back-dated acceptance of returns by the Registrar of Trade Unions, plus s.28(4) seizure/inspection and s. 10 cancellation notices. Held: petition defective for non-joinder of the ten trade unions complained against, and not maintainable as filed in the form and style of a PIL; writ petition dismissed. Keywords: PIL maintainability, necessary party/non-joinder, trade union returns, Registrar of Trade Unions, Labour Commissioner, Article 226, mandamus, dismissal.
What did the court decide?
The writ petition is defective because the ten registered trade unions against whom the petitioner made the complaint were not arrayed as parties to the case.