AB RASHID Vs. BLOCK DEVELOPMENT OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS civil revision is directed against the order of Additional District Judge, Kishtwar, dated 8th May, 2000 in yu8appeal titled Block Development Officer v. Abdul Rashid, setting aside the order of the Assistant Labour Commissioner, Kishtwar, dated 22nd March, 1999, as Authority under section 15 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936.

(2.) SECTION 15 of the Payment of Wages Act (in short, the Act) empowers the Authority appointed under sub -section (1) to issue direction for refund of the amount of wages deducted by the employer or payment of the delayed wages together with compensation on application of the employed person concerned, or any legal practitioner or any official of a registered trade union authorized in that behalf or any Inspector under the Act. Section 17 provides for appeal against an order dismissing wholly or partly an application or a direction for refund/payment under section 15 to the Court of Small Causes in a Presidency town and elsewhere, the District Court. Sub -section (2) of Section 17 lays down that save as provided in sub -section (1) i.e. subject to any order passed in appeal, the order/ direction of the Authority under section 15 shall be final.

(3.) WHEN this civil revision came up for consideration, a question arose as to whether, in view of the provisions of sub -section (2) or section 17, the appellate order could be challenged by civil revision under section 115 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Attention of the court was drawn to a Full Bench decision of this Court in Ghulam Rasool Wani v. Ghulam Muhammad Wani, 1990 KLJ 173, wherein the word final occurring in section 17(2) was interpreted as not only prohibiting a further appeal, but also revision to the High Court from the direction of the Authority. The revision was referred to Division Bench for an authoritative pronouncement on the point, and that is how the case came up before us for hearing.