Fundamental Right-Right to form association or union Scope of-Stature protecting Banks from disclosure of information regarding secret reserves etc.-Constitutionality of-Banking Companies Act, 1949 (X of 1949), s. 34-A-Constitution of India, Arts. 14, 19(1)(c) .

Section 34-A of the Banking Companies Act, 1949, introduced in 1960, provides that no banking company shall be compelled to produce or give inspection of its books of account or other document or furnish or disclose any statement or information which the company claims to be of a confidential 4 nature and the production etc., of which would involve disclosure of information relating to any reserves not shown as such in its published balance sheet or any particulars not shown therein in respect of provisions made for bad and doubtful debts and other usual or necessary provisions. Sub-section (2) of  34-A provides that any authority, before whom the question as to whether any amount out of such reserves or provisions should be taken into account, may refer the question to the Reserve Bank and the Reserve Bank shall furnish to the authority a certificate stating that the authority shall or shall not take into account the amount specified therein. Sub-section (3) makes s. 34-A applicable to only such banking companies whose operations extend beyond one State. The Appellant contended  hat s. 34-A contravened the fundamental tight guaranteed to trade unions.by Art. 19(I)(c)' of the Constitution as it prevented them from effectively exercising the concomitant fight of collective bargaining in respect of wages, bonus etc. before Industrial Tribunals by shutting out important and relevant evidence and that the Section violated Art. 14 of the Constitution as it' was not made applicable to all the banking companies