GUJARAT ELECTRICITY BOARD Vs. B M SHAH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The controversy involved in these petitions is whether Accounts Officers under the Gujarat Electricity Board fall within the definition of "workman" as defined in Section 2(s) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, (for brevity "I.D. Act") and whether they are entitlted to continue in service till they complete 60 years of age or whether the superannuation age for them is 58 years.

(2.) The petitions can be divided into three broad categories : -

(3.) Before enumerating the contentions raised by the learned counsel for the Accounts Officers and the submissions made by the learned Counsel for the Gujarat Electricity Board, it is necessary to set out the duties of the Accounts Officers and the staff pattern of the respondent -Board as set out in the common affidavit in reply dated 5.9.1997 filed on behalf of the Board by Shri B.J. Patel, Industrial Relations Officer. The Board operates through different offices as the Head Office at Baroda, zonal offices for different zones, each zone is divided into circles and there are circle offices. Since the function of the Board is to generate electricity and to distribute it to power stations at different places within the State of Gujarat the services of the Accounts Officers of the Board at all the above offices are inter -transferrable. The affidavit further states as under: -