INDIAN EXPRESS LIMITED Vs. P P KOTHARI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY the present writ petition the Award dated 28.02.1996 passed by the learned Judge of the Labour Court, Akola in reference proceedings under Section 17(2) of the Working Journalists and Other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1955 (for short the said Act) is under challenge by the petitioner. During pendency of the writ petition the original applicant claimant expired and his legal representatives have been brought on record.

(2.) ACCORDING to the original applicant, he was initially working as a Part Time Correspondent with Indian Express Newspaper (Bombay) Private Limited. According to the applicant, he was supplying news item for being published in daily "Indian Express" and daily "Loksatta". This arrangement between the parties however, came to be terminated on 31.07.1980. Thereafter, on 21.08.1980 the predecessor of the petitioners engaged the original applicant as a stringer on linage basis.

(3.) SHRI R.B. Puranik, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that the learned Judge of the Labour Court erred in granting relief in the proceedings filed by the original applicant. According to him, there was no relationship of employer and employee between the parties. Though the burden to prove such relationship was on the original applicant, the Labour Court wrongly shifted said burden on the petitioners. It was then submitted that there was no positive evidence on record to show that the principal avocation of the original applicant was newspaper journalism. In absence of such evidence, no relief could have been granted to the applicant. The learned counsel referred to various provisions of the said Act and submitted that the Labour Court had erred in granting relief to the original applicant in absence of various jurisdictional aspects. In support of his submissions the learned counsel placed reliance on the following decisions.