SURENDRA MISHRA Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Against the present Petitioners a recovery proceeding under Sub-section (1) of Section 33C of the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947 as amended by Section 18 of the Industrial Disputes Act (West Bengal Amendment) Act, 1980 has been instituted in the year 2001 for recovery of a sum of ' 4,48,200/- as due and payable to the workman by the opposite party No. 2 herein, in terms of an award under the provisions of the said Act.

(2.) Now, moving the instant criminal revisional application the Petitioner has approached this Court for quashing of the said proceedings, on the ground after coming into force of the Industrial Disputes (West Bengal Amendment) Act, 2007, the Court concerned before which the aforesaid proceeding is pending, has lost his jurisdiction to proceed with the same.

(3.) According to the provisions of Section 33C of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, until it was amended by virtue of Section 18 of the Industrial Disputes (West Bengal Amendment) Act, 1980, if the appropriate Government was satisfied that a money is due to a workman from an employer under an award, it should issue a certificate for that amount to the Collector, who shall proceed to recover the same in the same manner as an arrear of land revenue. Thus, till that amendment came into force for recovery of the arrear dues of a workman from the employer on the basis of a certificate issued by the appropriate Government, a recovery proceeding has to be instituted before the Collector and he has to proceed to recover the same in the same manner as prescribes for recovery of an arrear of land revenue. However, after the said provisions being amended by Section 18 of the Industrial Disputes (West Bengal Second Amendment) Act, 1980, "the Collector" was substituted by the word "the Learned Chief Judicial Magistrate or the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate" as the case may be and authorized to recover the such due in the manner as prescribes for recovery of fine. Subsequently, the State of West Bengal brought another amendment in the year 2007, being the Industrial Disputes (West Bengal Amendment) Act, 2007, and a new Section 33D has been inserted after Section 33C.