Municipal Corporation Of Greater Mumbai Fire Brigade Is Part Of Same Industrial Establishment Under Standing Orders Act: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that the Fire Brigade Department is an integral part of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai and constitutes an industrial establishment within the meaning of the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946. The Court observed that there is unity of ownership, management, finance and functional integrity between the Corporation and its Fire Brigade Department, and that internal budgetary arrangements or departmental specialisation do not create a separate legal identity.

Justice Amit Borkar was hearing a writ petition filed by the Mumbai Fire Services Union challenging the judgment dated 15 September 2021 passed by the Industrial Court, vide which it held that though the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) is an industrial establishment, its Fire Brigade Department could not be treated as one. The Union contended that employees of the Corporation were governed by the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 and that the departmental inquiry was illegal.

The Court examined the statutory framework of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888 and the material placed on record. It noted that the Fire Brigade functions under the administrative hierarchy of the Corporation, discharges statutory municipal functions including issuance of mandatory fire safety clearances, and operates within the municipal budgetary structure. Though a separate budget head is maintained, the Court held that internal financial allocation does not amount to financial autonomy. No evidence was produced to show that the Fire Brigade possesses independent legal personality, separate financial control, or autonomous managerial authority distinct from the Corporation.

The Court observed that the Fire Brigade cannot institute proceedings in its own name, its employees are governed by municipal service rules, and recruitment, disciplinary control and administration remain within the municipal framework. The Court further noted that the Fire Brigade's operations are closely linked with other municipal departments, including building, engineering and disaster management wings, thereby establishing functional integrality.

On a cumulative assessment of ownership, control, finance, management and purpose, the Court concluded that the Fire Brigade is not a free-standing entity but a department of the Municipal Corporation performing statutory civic functions. Consequently, once the Corporation is treated as an industrial establishment, the Fire Brigade Department must necessarily be regarded as part of the same establishment for the purposes of labour legislation.

“The Court must take a holistic view… Financial control remains within municipal channels. Management and service conditions are governed by municipal rules. Functional links with other departments are strong and continuous… When all these circumstances are read together, the only reasonable conclusion is that the Fire Brigade is a department of the Municipal Corporation for the purposes of labour law,” the Court observed.

Accordingly, the Court partly allowed the writ petition and set aside the finding of the Industrial Court that the Fire Brigade Department is not an industrial establishment. The finding of the Labour Court dated 17 January 2020, holding that the Fire Brigade constitutes an industrial establishment under the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946, was restored. Case Title: Mumbai Fire Services Union v. Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai & Ors. [Writ Petition No. 9482 of 2024]

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Bom) 86

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