BHALGORA COAL CO LTD Vs. INDRAJIT SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Opposite party No. 1, the Labour inspector (Central) Jharia East filed an application on the 9th of April, 1958, against the Directors and the Manager of the Bhalgora Coal Company Limited, for a direction for payment of delayed wages of 110 workers, together with compensation, on the ground that the wages of these workers for January, February and March, 1958, had not been paw. The claim of the delayed wages amounted to about Rs. 28,000/- and the claim for compensation amounted is Rs. 3,190/-. The pleas taken by the petitioners were-

(2.) The Subdivisiona! Magistrate agreed with the contention of the petitioners that the wages for March were not due on the date of the application. They were, therefore, not taken into consideration in this application, He also found that, during the pendency of the proceedings, all the wages, even up to March, 1958, had been paid and, therefore, there was no question of any direction tor payment of the same to the workmen concerned, he however, found that the Directors were liable to pay tne wages and he ordered payment of compensation at the rate of Rs. 10/- per worker per month for January and February, 1958, amounting to Rs. 2,200/-. On appeal by the petitioners before the District Judge, the finding of the Subdivisional Magistrate that the Directors were liable for the wages was affirmed, and he held, notwithstanding the payment of the wages during the pendency of the proceedings, that compensation could bs awarded under Section 15 (3) of the Payment of wages Act, 1936 (hereinafter to be referred to as 'the Act'), he, however, reduced the amount of compensation from Rs. 10/-to Rs. 8 per worker per month for January and February, 1958. The petitioners, being thus aggrieved, have filed this revision application.

(3.) Mr. Sushil Kumar Mazumdar, appearing for the petitioners, has, firstly, contended that the Directors are not liable for the payment of the wages as they are not at all responsible for the supervision of the Colliery. Section 3, Clause (b) of the Act provides that every employer shall Be responsible for the payment to persons employed by him of all wages required to be paid under this ACT, provided that, in the case of persons employed (otherwise than by a contractor), in industrial establishments, if there Is 3 person responsible to the employer for the supervision and control of the industrial establishment, the person so responsible to the employer shall be responsible for such payment. "Employer" has not been defined in the Act, and under its ordinary connotation, it must be held that in a private limited company the Directors are the employers. They are, therefore, liable to pay wages, unless the case comes under the proviso referred to above. Both the Courts below have found that the petitioners have failed to adduce any evidence to show or to establish that they had employed or appointed any person as their agent being responsible to them for the supervision and control of me Industrial establishment. On that finding it is not, and could not be, challenged in a civil revision application that the decision of the Courts below that the Directors are responsible for the payment of the wages is in any way wrong. !, accordingly, hold that the Directors in this case are liable for the payment of the wages within me meaning of Section 3 of the Act.