MANAGEMENT, VISWANATHAM PRIMARY AGRICULTURAL CO-OPERATIVE BANK Vs. AUTHORITY UNDER TAMIL NADU PAYMENT OF SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE ACT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The second Respondent was placed under suspension by the writ Petitioner and he was subsequently dismissed. I am not going into details of the facts, as the same is not required for the order that is going to be passed.

(2.) According to the second Respondent, he was not paid subsistence allowance as per the Tamil Nadu Payment of Subsistence Allowance Act, 1981 (herein after referred to as "the act"), till he was dismissed from service. He claimed the balance of subsistence allowance before the first Respondent under the Act. The first Respondent had allowed the application, by an order dated 13.10.05, in P.S.A. No. 87/04, and a direction was issued to the Petitioner to pay the balance amount towards the subsistence allowance of Rs. 48,780/-.

(3.) The Petitioner has filed the writ petition against the order of the first Respondent dated 13.10.2005, in P.S.A. No. 87/04. There are many issues were raised. However, the issue relating to jurisdiction is that the first Respondent has No. jurisdiction to hear the subsistence allowance application as he was not a regular Assistant Labour Commissioner and he was only a person holding in-charge. It is stated that the first Respondent is a regular Labour Officer and the Labour Officer is the lower post than the post of Assistant Labour Commissioner.