CHAMPALAL PACHORE Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioners arc para-medical staff of the Ordnance Factory, Itarsi (which is a Unit of Ordnance Factory Board) run by the Ministry of Defence, Government of India, registered as a 'factory' under the Factories Act, 1948. According to the petitioners, the prescribed working hours of the Factory was 44-3/4th hours in a week. The Ordnance Factory issued an order/circular granting employees who work beyond 44-3/4th hours in a week, over-time allowance at single rate, up to 48 hours a week. The petitioners were paid overtime (single rate) as per the said order upto March, 1991. However, it was stopped between April 1991 to April, 1998. It was again paid from May, 1998. Being aggrieved by the non-payment between April, 1991 to April, 1998, petitioners approached the Central Administrative Tribunal, Jabalpur Bench in O. A. No. 725 of 1999 seeking a direction to the respondents to pay them overtime allowance for the said period at single rate for the overtime work beyond 44-3/4th hours.

(2.) THE Tribunal dismissed the petition by order dated 2-12-2003 holding that it had no jurisdiction to adjudicate upon that issue. It did not assign any reason for its decision but stated that the matter was covered by the order of the Full Bench dated 9-8-2002 rendered in O. A. No. 192 of 1995 (A. C. Choube v. Union of India ). The said order of the Tribunal is challenged in this petition on the following grounds:

(3.) TO find an answer to these questions, reference to some of the provisions of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 ('act' for short) is necessary. 3. 1. Section 3 (q) defines "service Matter" as follows: