BIJAI COTTON MILLS Vs. SUB-DIVISIONAL MAGISTRATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a Writ Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution on behalf of Bijai cotton Mills Ltd. , Bijainagar which carries on the business of manufacturing yarn at Bijainagar, Tehsil Beawar, which formed part of the State of Ajmer-Merwara before its merger in Rajasthan in 1956.

(2.) SOMETIME in the year 1950 a dispute arose between the petitioner and its workmen regarding the scale of wages being paid to the workmen. The contention of the workmen was that it was much below the subsistence level. The government of Ajmer referred the dispute for adjudication to the Industrial tribunal under Section 10 (1) read with Section 12 (15) of the Industrial Disputes act, 1947. These proceedings after a prolonged trial ended on the 7th June 1955 in an award by Mr. C. Jacob, who was appointed as the Tribunal. In substance the award fixed the basic minimum wages to be paid to all categories of workmen as specified in the enclosure to the award. The workmen were further held entitled to the dearness allowance at a uniform rate of Rs. 10/-per mensem. The wages and dearness allowance were directed to be paid from 1st of December 1950. Both the parties went in appeal to the Labour Appellate Tribunal of India at Bombay. By their order dated 12th of December 1956, the Labour Appellate Tribunal modified the award in respect of the minimum wages and it was ordered that the minimum wages shall be paid as fixed in the notification of the Government of India dated. 8th of October 1952. The petitioner took the matter in appeal to the Supreme court. The appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Court on 12th of February 1960. The judgment of their Lordships of the Supreme Court is reported in Bijai Cotton mills Ltd. v. Its workmen, AIR 1960 SC 692. Thereafter, Shri J. P. Bhargava, Labour inspector and ex-officio Inspector under the Payment of Wages Act, Ajmer District, beawar, applied to the Sub Divisional Magistrate, Beawar who was the authority under the Payment of Wages Act to hear and decide all claims arising out of deductions from wages or delay in payment of wages of persons employed or paid in the labour area in Beawar. The Labour Inspector prayed that a direction be issued under Section 15 (3) of the said Act for the payment of Rs. 12,63,366. 54 or such greater or lesser amount as the authority may find due to the workmen of the Mill for the short payment made to them during the period falling between 112-1950 and 7-1-1953. The Labour Inspector further claimed that the compensation amounting to Rs. 1,27. 690/-be also directed to be paid at the rate of Rs. 10/- per head to each workman. This application was made on 22nd of august 1960. Shri Bijai Cotton Mills Ltd. , Bijainagar and Seth Raghunath mansinghka, Managing Director of the said Mill were parties to this application. One of the grounds taken up by the petitioner in the reply submitted by it before the said authority was that the application of the Labour Inspector for the reliefs sought was not maintainable under the Payment of Wages Act. The learned Sub divisional Magistrate framed several issues. The first issue was, as follows:--Is the application not maintainable under the Payment of Wages Act? the learned Sub Divisional Magistrate decided this issue against the petitioner on 17th of February 1964 and held that the application was maintainable under Section 15 of the Payment of Wages Act.

(3.) IN this Writ Petition, the petitioner challenges the aforesaid order passed by the learned Sub Divisional Magistrate and contends that for the reliefs prayed by the labour Inspector no proceedings can be taken under the Payment of Wages Act and the proper remedy, if any, for getting relief is under the Industrial Disputes act. It is prayed by the petitioner that an order, direction or a Writ including a Writ in the nature of prohibition be issued and the Sub Divisional Magistrate who is non-petitioner No. 1 in this Writ Petition be prohibited from proceeding with the trial of the application filed by the Labour Inspector who is non-petitioner No. 2, It is further prayed that the order dated 17th of February 1964 of the Sub Divisional magistrate be quashed. This Writ Petition is contested by the non-petitioners.