STATE BANK OF INDIA Vs. BASUKINATH DAS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned Counsel for the petitioner State Bank of India and learned Counsel for the State. No one appears for the respondent Nos. 1 and 2 although respondent No. 1 has entered appearance by filing Vakalatnama.

(2.) The petitioner prays for quashing the order dated 1.2.2003 (Annexure-2) passed by the Presiding Officer, Labour Court, Purnea in Minimum Wages Case No. 28 of 2001 by which he has rejected the petition of the petitioner raising preliminary issue regarding maintainability of the case and the jurisdiction of the Labour Court holding that the Labour Court has got jurisdiction to dispose of the case.

(3.) For decision of the present matter it is not necessary to deal with the facts in detail. Suffice it to say that the State Bank of India as a welfare measure at its own cost opened a medical dispensary at Zonal Office, Purnea to provide medical facilities to the employees of the Bank for which a Doctor has been engaged on contract basis for rendering medical service on part-time basis and he is free to do practice outside also. To assist him in dispensation of the medicines to the employees of the Bank he engaged an assistant with pharmaceutical background and the Bank reimburses to the extent of Rs. 800/- on certificate basis for such services being obtained by him. The Medical Officer engages an assistant on his own and the Bank has no control and supervision on the services rendered by such assistant engaged by the Medical Officer. The respondent No. 1 in the present matter was engaged by the Medical Officer of the Bank (Zonal Office, Purnea). The said respondent No. 1 filed a case under the Minimum Wages Act before the Presiding Officer, Labour Court, Puenea which was registered as Minimum Wages Case No. 28 of 2001 alleging that as per the notification of the State Government dated 21.4.1995 he was entitled to get the minimum wages of Rs. 67/- per day equivalent to Rs. 1742/- per month for working on 26 days in a month and, accordingly, the claim of difference of wages of respondent No. 1 was of Rs. 55,578/-for the period from 1.4.1996 to 28.2.2001 with ten times compensation over the said amount making' total claim of Rs. 6,11,358/- from the Bank in terms of the State Government notification No. XI/M.W. 4020/94/Land E/827 dated 21.4.1995.