GENERAL SECURITY & INFORMATION SERVICES LTD. Vs. CHIEF ROLLING STOCK ENGINEER OF EAST COAST RAILWAY ADMINISTRATION,BBSR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition has been filed by the petitioner, which has entered into a contract with opposite party-Railway to render services of cleaning of Railway coaches at Bhubaneswar Coaching Depot and depot premises by adopting mechanized method as per the agreement dated 10.5.2007. The period of contract is for five years from 20.3.2007 to 19.3.2012. As per the contract between the petitioner and the opposite party-Railway, the petitioner is required to clean approximately 93 coaches per day at Bhubaneswar Coaching Depot and Depot premises through advanced machinery with the help of its workers. Prior to the work undertaken by the petitioner, similar work was done by the petitioner by engaging workers at the supervision of the personnel of the opposite party No. 1. The rate of wages payable to the employees is stipulated Clause 90 of the Agreement wherein it is stated that the Contractor shall be responsible to ensure compliance with the provision of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and the Rules made there under in respect of any employee directly or through petty Contractors or Sub-Contractors employed by him.

(2.) The second ground urged is that since the minimum wages has been paid to the workmen as per the rates fixed by the Labour Department, the finding recorded in the impugned order that the minimum wages were not paid to the workers engaged is erroneous and not tenable. Therefore, the impugned order is liable to be set aside.

(3.) The third ground urged by the petitioner is that opposite party No. 1 is the principal employer and therefore the order fastening the liability should have been passed against opposite party No. 1. Hence, the impugned order is bad in law and liable to be quashed.