RESPITE HOTELS PVT LTD Vs. LABOUR ENFORCEMENT OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY way of this petition, the petitioner has prayed for following reliefs:

(2.) THE short facts leading to filing of this petition are that the petitioner is a private limited company registered under the Companies Act, 1956. The petitionerCompany is engaged in hospitality and catering in various hospitals and other institutes through out Gujarat. It is the case of the petitioner that the respondent No.1 visited the establishment of the petitionercompany and and brought to the notice of the petitionerCompany that four employees were not given wages as per the provisions of Minimum wages Act, 1948. Thereafter, the petitionerCompany immediately started paying the difference to all four employees and submitted compliance report to the respondent No.1 . However, the respondent No.1 filed claim application bearing claim application No.47 of 2011 before the respondent No.2 on the ground that the compliance report is found unsatisfactory. The petitionerCompany resisted the said application by filing written statement. The respondent No.2 vide impugned order directed the petitionerCompany to pay an amount of Rs.7,17,080/, which is equal to five times of the difference of wages i.e. Rs.1,79,27/. Being aggrieved by the same, present petition has been preferred.

(3.) I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material on record. Keeping in mind the facts that the payment of difference of wages has been paid to the concerned employees during the hearing of the application and also considering the delay on the part of the petitionerCompany in paying the difference of wages, the the compensation equal to five time of the difference of the wages appears to be on higher side. Therefore, I am of the opinion that if the compensation equal to five time of the difference of the wages is substituted with one time, then, the same would meet the ends of justice.