J K ACRYLICS Vs. UNION OF INDIA UOI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ADMITTEDLY the petitioner's Establishment in both the above writ petitions are fully covered under the provisions of the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 (hereinafter called as the Act ). The Bonus Act has been enacted as a welfare measure to the working class employed in certain establishments and the employees are entitled to the bonus on the basis of the production or productivity or profit and for the matters connected therewith. The bonus is regarded as a deferred wage payable to the employees which can be claimed by them as a matter of right under the provisions of the Bonus Act. Statutory liability for payment of bonus to employees (sic) employed in establishment is also caused on the employer. Bonus is to be paid by the employer in the accounting year in accordance with the provisions of the Act after calculating the allocable surplus. Under Section 8 of the Bonus Act, every employee is entitled to be paid the bonus by the employer in the accounting year in accordance with the provisions of the Act. Section 12 (sic) deals with the payment of minimum bonus to be paid to the employee which shall not be less than 8. 33% of the salary or wage. This minimum bonus is to be paid irrespective of the fact whether company has earned any profit or not or there is any allocable surplus or not. Section 11 provides for payment of maximum bonus i. e. upto 20%. Section 2 (13) of the Act defines "employee" and employee had been defined before the latest amendment as an employee drawing a salary or wages upto Rs. 2500/-per mensem. But, the bonus was to be calculated for payment upto the salary or wage of an employee up to the limit of Rs. 1600/ -.

(2.) THE President of India had promulgated an Ordinance. The Payment of Bonus Amendment Ordinance, 1995 (No. 8 of 1995) published in the Gazette of India, Extra-ordinary Part II, dated July 9, 1995. The Ordinance has been promulgated in exercise of the powers conferred upon the President of India under Article 123 (1) of the Constitution of India and was made effective from April 1, 1993 and whereby certain amendments have been made in Section 2 and Section 12. The figures "2500/-" have been substituted by the figures "3500/-" by the amending Ordinance and the figures "1600/" have been substituted by "2500/-"

(3.) THE principle Act had been amended by the Ordinance w. e. f. April 1, 1993 and all those employees drawing salary up to Rs. 3500/-were brought under the purview of the Act to receive the benefit of bonus by taking the maximum limit of salary of Rs. 2500/- instead of Rs. 1600/-meaning thereby, earlier to the amendment, employees drawing salary up to Rs. 2500/-per month were entitled to receive the bonus at a salary of Rs. 1600/-per month and this clause has been enlarged and made applicable to the employees drawing salary upto Rs. 3500/- per month and the wage limit for payment of bonus has been extended upto Rs. 2500/-to be calculated tor the purpose of payment of bonus.