NAVY EDUCATION SOCIETY Vs. ELDHO.K.JOSEPH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is a Society registered under the Societies Registration Act , 1860. The Society is maintaining, managing and controlling the affairs of the Navy Children School at Kochi. The 1 st respondent herein was the physical education teacher appointed in the school on contract basis. He was suspended from service, pending enquiry, on the basis of a complaint filed by a staff alleging sexual harassment. Though he preferred an appeal against the order removing him from service, the same was dismissed.

(2.) The 1st respondent thereafter filed an application seeking subsistence allowance before the 2 nd respondent under Section 4 of the Kerala Payment of Subsistence Allowance Act, 1972 ("the Act", for short) and the Rules framed thereunder. In his application, he contended that he was suspended from service on 21.04.2012 and was dismissed from service on 12.03.2013 and that he is entitled to a sum of Rs.47,168/- towards subsistence allowance. The said application was dismissed by the 2nd respondent finding that the Kerala Payment of Wages Act, 1972 will not apply to the Navy School, as the Society which runs the School is not an establishment as defined under section 2 (c) of the Act, 1972. The said order was challenged by the 1 st respondent before this Court and by judgment dated 12.1.2017 in W.P.C No.12042 of 2015, a copy of which is produced as Ext.R1(a), this Court held that the Society being private entity, the mere fact that the school stands affiliated with the CBSE cannot be held against an employee unless the establishment itself becomes a Department of Government or similar establishment as referred to in Section 2(c) r/w section 5(a) of the Act. It was held that the exclusion provided for in the Act is only in respect of certain public undertakings of Central Government. The order passed by the 2 nd respondent was accordingly set aside and the matter was remitted back for fresh consideration in accordance with law.

(3.) Thereafter, the 2nd respondent reconsidered the matter and passed Ext.P7 order allowing the application holding that the 1 st respondent is entitled to get subsistence allowance of Rs.47,168/- and the petitioner herein was directed to deposit the amount within a period of 30 days. The said order is under challenge.