MUNICIPAL CORPORATION Vs. DES RAJ PAUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order will dispose of Letters Patent Appeals Nos. 1 (Municipal Corporation, etc., V. Des Raj etc.) and 111 of 1983 (State of Punjab V. Des Raj etc.) which are directed against the same order of the learned Single Judge, dated November 30, 1982, in Civil Writ Petition No. 6650 of 1974.

(2.) The private Respondents are Town Hall employees of the Municipal Committee, Amritsar, working in the departments other than Electricity Department. In February, 1973, certain industrial disputes having arisen between the Municipal Committee, Amritsar, and its employees, a demand notice, including the claim of bonus for the years 1970-71 and 1971-72 was given by workmen Union. The Conciliation Officer held conciliation proceedings. In the meantime, the Union had given a call for strike. During the pendency of the strike, the President of the Municipal Committee entered into a settlement, dated July 14, 1973, (P. 1) with the employees conceding the demand for the payment of bonus. The settlement P.1 was approved by the Municipal Committee,--vide resolution No. 374, dated July, 1973. The employees having not been paid bonus, some of them filed applications for computation thereof under Section 33-C(2) of the Industrial Disputes Act (hereinafter the Act). The Government annulled resolution No. 374, dated July 30, 1973,--vide order, dated June 7, 1974, (P.2) passed under Section 236 of the Punjab Municipal Act. The Labour Court,--vide order, dated August 20, 1974, (P.3) dismissed the applications filed under Section 33-C(2) of the Act on the ground that the resolution No. 374, dated July 30, 1973, providing for payment of bonus to the employees had since been annulled. The private Respondents assailed the order of the Government P.2 as also that of the Labour Court P.3 in Civil Writ Petition No. 6650 of 1974 which was allowed by the learned Single Judge on November 30, 1982. The impugned orders P.2 and P.3 have been quashed. It is against this order that L.P.A. No. 1 of 1983 has been filed by the Municipal Corporation, Amritsar and L.P.A. No. 111 of 1983 by the State of Punjab.

(3.) The learned Single Judge has allowed the writ petition filed by the private Respondents on twin grounds., namely, (1) the Municipal Committee was competent to enter into an agreement with the employees agreeing to pay bonus under Section 34 of the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, and in this context the fact that the Municipal employees are excluded from the purview of the Payment of Bonus Act is irrelevant, and (2) the Municipal Committee having resolved to pay bonus, there was hardly any occasion for the annulment of the resolution on the ground that it is not tenable under law.