KRISHAN PRASAD GUPTA Vs. CONTROLLER PRINTING AND STATIONERY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Fate of this appeal hinges on the answer which we ultimately give to the short question "whether the appeals pending in the Court of the District Judge under Section 17 of the Payment of Wages act, were liable to be transferred to the Administrative Tribunals under Section 29 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 for disposal on merits or the jurisdiction of the Authority under Section 15 and that of the District Judge under Section 17 of the Payment of Wages act to hear and decide Claim Cases and Appeals, respectively remain undisturbed".

(2.) The appellant was an employee of the respondent. On November 23, 1987 he filed an application under Section 15 of the Payment of Wages act for recovery of an amount of Rs.48,274.50 p. on the allegations, inter alia, that the respondent, had illegally withheld and had also made unauthorised deductions from his wages progressively over a considerable period of time. This application was registered as Case No.407 of 1987, notice whereof was issued to the respondent, who after putting in appearance, absented on a number of dates and ultimately the Authority passed an order that the case would proceed ex parte against him. The respondent filed an application for setting aside that order but the application was rejected by order dated June 23, 1988 against which the respondent filed an appeal under Section 17(1) of the Payment of Wages Act on July 15, 1988 before the District Judge during the pendency of which the Tribunal was constituted and consequently, in view of the provisions contained in Section 29 of the Act, the appeal was transferred to the Tribunal and the Tribunal by its order August 31, 1990, rejected the appeal.

(3.) In the meantime, appellant's main application under Section 15 of the Payment of Wages Act was allowed by order dated July 20, 1988 for a sum of Rs.43,092.50 p. against which the respondent filed an appeal under Section 17(1) of the Payment of Wages Act in the Court of the District Judge, Chandigarh, which was also transferred to the Tribunal and the Tribunal by its judgment and order dated July 4, 1994 allowed the appeal and set aside the order dated 20th July, 1988 passed by the Authority under the Payment of Wages Act. It is this order which is challenged before us on the grounds, inter alia that the appeal pending in the Court of the District Judge under Section 17 of the Payment of Wages Act could not have been legally transferred to the Tribunal under Section 29 of the Act and the Tribunal, therefore, had no jurisdiction to dispose it of on merits.