ISSUE:
Whether the Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Committee (APMC) created under the Karnataka Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act, 1966, qualifies as an “industry” as defined by the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (IDA).
Whether the Karnataka Act, having acquired the President's assent, supersedes the IDA relevant to the employees controlled by the State Act.
RULE:
A statutory body like the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) can be classified as an “industry” under Section 2(j) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 if its functions are not sovereign in nature.
Regulatory functions that serve the public interest and involve systematic, organized activities (such as market regulation), even if non-profit, do not qualify as sovereign functions and thus fall within the scope of the IDA.