INDIAN EXPRESS PVT. LTD. Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Through all these writ petitions, a challenge has been made to the notification dtd. 12/11/2014 issued by State Government specifying the officers mentioned in Column II to be 'authorities competent' to dispose the application under Sec. 17 of 'Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Misc. Provisions Act, 1955' (for short 'Act 1955'), the reference order dtd. 10/3/2023 passed by Assistant Labour Commissioner, Gautam Budh Nagar and order dtd. 22/5/2023 passed by Labour Court, NOIDA rejecting the application regarding jurisdiction of Court.

(2.) Writ Petition No. 292 of 2024 assails the order dtd. 10/11/2023 passed by Labour Court, NOIDA, Gautam Budh Nagar in WJA Case No. 01/2023, 02/2023, 03/2023, 04/2023, 05/2023, 06/2023, 07/2023, 08/2023, 09/2023, 10/2023 and 11/2023. As all the cases are interconnected and petitioner is same in all the writ petitions, with the consent of the parties, they are heard and decided together. Writ Petition No. 292 of 2024 is taken as the leading case.

(3.) Petitioner before this Court, The Indian Express Pvt. Ltd. is a company incorporated under the provisions of Companies Act having its registered office at Mumbai and branch office at NOIDA at Express Building B1/B Sector 10 NOIDA and also a factory at NOIDA. It is a media group known as 'Indian Express Group' or 'Express Group'. Respondent nos. 7 to 15 are newspaper employees of petitioner company as defined under Sec. 2(c) of Act 1955. Except respondent no. 13 who is a working journalist as defined under Sec. 2(f). The other contesting respondents are non-journalist newspaper employees covered under Sec. 2(dd) of the Act 1955.