RAY LIME STONE AND CO Vs. SUBDIVISIONAL OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution to quash the direction given by the Subdivisional Officer, Sadar, Ranchi, acting as the appropriate authority under Sub-section (3) of Section 20 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 (hereinafter referred to as the Act), directing the petitioner to pay minimum wages to its employees in accordance with the provisions of that Act. The main challenge is based on the contention that the petitioner is not an "employer" as defined in Clause (e) of Section 2 or the Act.

(2.) Petitioner No. 1 is a company which carries on quarrying operation of limestone in village Ray in the district of Ranchi after having obtained a mining lease from the State Government, and petitioner No. 2 is said to be the proprietor of the said concern. It is further stated that the limestone is quarried at site and taken and utilised for the purpose of manufacture of lime.

(3.) The definition of "employer" as given to Clause (e) of Section 2 of the Act refers to person who employs one or more employees in any scheduled employment specified in the Schedule to the Act, part I of the Schedule enumerates twelve categories of employment and item 8 of that part refers "employment in stone breaking or stone crushing". The legal question for consideration by us is whether the said item can be applicable to employment dealing with extraction of limestone from quarries. Mr. De for the petitioners relied very much on the well known decision of the Supreme Court in Madhya Pradesh Mineral Industry Association, Nagpur v. Regional Labour Commissioner (Central), Jabalpur, AIR 1960 SC 1068 where the laid item in the Schedule came up for consideration. In that case the facts found were that for the purpose of extraction of manganese ores the operation of stone breaking and stone crushing was carried on and the stones so extracted were crushed into small pieces, washed and passed through selves of different meshes until the extraction of the manganese ore. Their Lordships while examining whether-such an operation will attract the scope of item 8 observed as follows :---