Authorities must decide pending representations in accordance with law, preferably within 45 days.

The petitioner union initially challenged a Railway Board communication dated 08.07.2025 providing for office accommodation to affiliated unions of recognised federations, and sought consequential relief concerning allotments to respondent unions. In the alternative, it sought equal treatment, referring to the votes it had secured

At the hearing, the petitioner sought only a direction to respondents 2 and 3 to decide its representations/applications dated 08.09.2025 and 31.10.2025, which it said remained undecided. The Union of India did not oppose that limited prayer and stated that the representations would be considered expeditiously

1. Whether respondents 2 and 3 should be directed to consider and decide the petitioner’s pending representations/applications

2. Whether the Court should express any view on the merits of the petitioner’s substantive challenge to the Railway Board communication and related allotments

The Court directed the authorities to consider and decide the representations “in accordance with law” but cited no particular statute, regulation, precedent, or legal doctrine

The Court expressly left the merits of the dispute open and made no finding on the legality of the communication or the petitioner’s claim to equal treatment

The petitioner confined its request to obtaining a decision on its pending representations, and the Union of India did not object to that relief

In those circumstances, the Court issued a time-bound direction for respondents 2 and 3 to decide the representations in accordance with law. It also permitted the petitioner to file a fresh representation, which the authority was to consider alongside the earlier representations. The Court did not assess the underlying challenge on its merits

The petitioner was permitted to file a fresh representation, to be considered together with the earlier ones within the stated period. No opinion was expressed on the merits