KARNATAKA ELECTRICITY BOARD BANGALORE Vs. ANANDA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) RESPONDENTS 1 to 8 filed writ petitions before this Court claiming that they are employed in the Karnataka Electricity board canteen run by the appellant for the benefit of their employees working in Cauvery Bhavan and other Officers of the board. It is alleged that the canteen caters to the needs of about 800 employees working in the said premises of the Karnataka electricity Board; that they are paid very low wages; that they are not paid on par with the other employees of the Karnataka electricity Board in the matter of emoluments; that the petitions were filed seeking a direction to the respondents to treat respondents 1 to 8 herein as regular employees of the Karnataka electricity Board, entitled to conditions of service similar to the permanent comparable employees or workmen of the Karnataka electricity Board; that the canteen is run by Respondent 9 consisting of Officers and Employees of the Karnataka electricity Board; that the Managing Committee though constituted is run under the control and guidance of the karnataka Electricity Board; the initial capital to run the canteen was provided by the Karnataka Electricity Board; that the premises of the canteen belongs to the Karnataka Electricity board so also, moveables and other properties; that the accounts of the canteen are audited by the officials of the Karnataka electricity Board; that the canteen is subsidised as part of the welfare facilities given by the Karnataka Electricity Board; that the wages paid are too low and appropriate wages have to be paid and employees in the canteen run by the Karnataka electricity Board are entitled to the benefits of the other employees, who discharge similar duties.

(2.) THE appellant contended that respondents 1 to 8 are employed in the canteen located in the premises of the karnataka Electricity Board; that they have not been appointed by the Karnataka Electricity Board; that they have been appointed by the Managing Committee-respondent 9 herein; that they cannot claim to be employees of the Karnataka electricity Board; that the canteen is not being run by the karnataka Electricity Board, but by the Managing Committee, which is functioning from October, 1986; that the Karnataka electricity Board provided premises, furniture, power, water and light to the Managing Committee for running the canteen as a gesture of good-will; that a limited amount of seed money has also been granted to the canteen; that the canteen is being run by the Managing Committee and the Karnataka Electricity board has no responsibility in respect of the management; that the canteen is being run on 'no profit and no loss' basis, no control is being exercised by the Karnataka Electricity Board in running the canteen; that respondents 1 to 8 had been appointed some time in 1986 after the canteen was established by the managing Committee; that respondents 1 to 8 cannot seek parity of wages with the wages prevailing in the Karnataka electricity Board; it is also disputed that they are entitled to higher emoluments; they have to seek appropriate remedy by raising an industrial dispute and they are paid actually the minimum wages under the Minimum Wages Act.

(3.) THE learned Single Judge after exhaustively examining the concepts relating to the employer and employee relationship; the nature of the activity carried on by the Karnataka Electricity board; the services provided by the canteen and applying the various tests in the different decisions of the Supreme Court came to the conclusion as follows: