ABDULLA MOHAMAD MUSLIYARAKAT Vs. DIRECTOR COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a petition wherein the order passed by the Presiding Officer, 3rd Labour Court, Surat, dated 27th December, 1997, is under challenge. By the order in question, the learned Judge held that the present petitioner is getting pension as a Government Servant and for the disputes pertaining to the Government services, there is a Tribunal called Gujarat Civil Services Tribunal and therefore, according to the learned Judge, the application was not maintainable before the Labour Court under the Industrial Disputes Act. However, that question is not agitated for the present and the same is not decided.

(2.) The present petitioner had filed an application i.e. Special Recovery Application No. 175/1987, before the Labour Court at Surat, claiming the overtime. Curiously, the overtime was claimed by showing that the petitioner was serving as a Driver and he was given a residential quarter in the hospital itself so as to see that the services of driver are readily available to meet with any emergency which may arise at any odd hours. The petitioner puts a claim that out of 24 hours a day, the petitioner was on duty for 8 hours and as he was made to reside in the quarter and was under duty/obligation to be available for services for all remaining hours to meet with any emergency, remaining 16 hours of a day should be treated as overtime of the petitioner and he should be paid overtime wages at the rate of double of the wages. This comes to that he be paid the wages for 32 hours. The calculation is given by the present petitioner starting from 13th July, 1981 to 28th February, 1987 and the amount comes to Rs.2,52,000.00.

(3.) The overtime is claimed for a period starting from 13th July, 1981 to 28th February, 1987. The Recovery Application was filed by the petitioner in the year 1987, that is, on 13th March, 1987, and the same came to be decided on 27th December, 1997. The present petition is filed on 13th March, 2000 i.e. after 2 years, which is an additional ground for rejecting this petition.