CHRISTIAN HOSPITAL AZAMGARH Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) -The petitioner is a hospital, known as Christian Hospital, Azamgarh, which is a charitable institution and is governed by its Managing Committee under the Church of Northern India Diocese of Lucknow which is registered under the Societies Registration Act. One of the aims and object of the hospital is to make available to the public, irrespective of race, caste, religion, creed or social conditions, the facility of a hospital and its community health services centre in the field of curative and preventive care and to provide training programme for doctors, nurses, midwives, etc.

(2.) IT transpires that the Labour Inspector made an inspection, and thereafter, issued a notice to the hospital indicating that pursuant to the notification dated 6.8.1984, the hospital was covered under the Minimum Wages Act, and therefore, the petitioner was required to comply with the Minimum Wages Act and to pay, the minimum wages, to its employees. The petitioner filed a reply and submitted that even though, the Hospital, was paying the minimum wages to its employees and would continue to do so, nonetheless, the notification dated 6.8.1984 was only applicable to a clinic and was not applicable to a hospital. The petitioner, being a hospital, and not a private clinic could not be included in the notification dated 6.8.1984. The prescribed authority, by the impugned order dated 28.2.1986, rejected the contention of the petitioner and held that the notification dated 6.8.1984 was applicable upon the petitioner and that the petitioner was liable to pay the minimum wages to its employees. The prescribed authority held that only a State Government runs a hospital and private parties do not run a hospital and that they operate only a private clinic and, therefore, the petitioner was covered by the notification of 6.8.1984.

(3.) THE moot question which arises for consideration is, whether the petitioner is covered under the notification dated 6.8.1984 or not and, whether private clinic could include a hospital or not?