Shree K K Shah Sabarkantha Arogya ... vs Mukundbhai B Patel
2023 Latest Caselaw 5668 Guj

                                                                                           NEUTRAL CITATION




      C/LPA/1020/2023                                      ORDER DATED: 04/08/2023

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             IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

            R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 1020 of 2023
        In R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 3585 of 2009
                              With
          CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR STAY) NO. 2 of 2023
           In R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 1020 of 2023
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              SHREE K K SHAH SABARKANTHA AROGYA MANDAL
                               Versus
                         MUKUNDBHAI B PATEL
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Appearance:
MR DIPAK R DAVE(1232) for the Appellant(s) No. 1
MR UT MISHRA(3605) for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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     CORAM:HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MRS. JUSTICE SUNITA
           AGARWAL
           and
           HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE N.V.ANJARIA

                       Date : 04/08/2023
                       COMMON ORAL ORDER

(PER : HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MRS. JUSTICE SUNITA AGARWAL)

1. By means of this intra-court appeal, the

appellant seeks to challenge the directions contained

in the judgment and order dated 09.09.2022 passed by

the learned Single Judge in Special Civil Application

No.3585 of 2009, to deposit the entire amount of

wages within four weeks in the account of the

respondent - workman.

2. The order dated 09.09.2022 is sought to be

challenged by means of this appeal presented before

this Court in the month of January, 2023. It is

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C/LPA/1020/2023 ORDER DATED: 04/08/2023

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evident that the appellant has not complied with the

order passed by this Court and proceeded to file

appeal at a belated stage. It is sought to be

submitted by the learned counsel for the appellant

that there is no clarity in the judgment of the

learned Single Judge as to what amount of wages for

which period was required to be paid to the

respondent workman. More so, when the award of

reinstatement was set aside and the matter was

relegated for fresh adjudication before the Labour

Court, there was no occasion for the learned Single

Judge to issue direction to pay wages to the workman.

Both these submissions of the learned counsel for the

appellants are found to be misconceived for the

simple reason that the directions contained in the

order of the learned Single Judge in paragraph-19 are

referable to an interim order of this Court in the

writ petition directing for compliance of Section 17B

of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. On an

application filed by the workman seeking a direction

for payment of 17B wages, the respondent employer -

appellant herein had offered and filed an affidavit

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that the appellant was ready and willing to reinstate

the petitioner - workman without prejudice to rights

and contentions in the main matter challenging the

award. On the said submission, the order dated

08.09.2009 was passed by this Court granting liberty

to the employer to reinstate the workman on any other

post than that of Ward Boy.

3. The observation in paragraph - 12 of the order

of the learned Single Judge indicates that there was

serious dispute with regard to compliance of interim

order dated 08.09.2009. There were rival submissions

before the learned Single Judge that neither the

employer - appellant had reinstated the workman nor

had paid wages under Section 17B. This finding

returned by the learned Single Judge in paragraph-12

is sought to be assailed by placing a document dated

09.10.2009 before us which is appended at page-82 of

the paper-book. It is sought to be submitted by the

learned counsel for the appellant based on the said

document that the fault lies on the part of the

workman as he had refused to accept the offer given

by the employer for reinstatement in compliance of

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order dated 08.09.2009. On said submission, a pointed

query was raised to the learned counsel for the

appellant to demonstrate as to whether the document

appended at page-82 of the paper-book was brought

before the learned Single Judge by means of any

affidavit filed on behalf of the employer. There is

absolute denial about this fact. It is, thus, evident

that the employer could not demonstrate before the

learned Single Judge that offer of employment was

given to the workman in compliance of the interim

order dated 08.09.2009.

4. In the said scenario, we do not find any error

in the decision of the learned Single Judge in

directing to deposit entire amount of wages under

Section 17B in compliance of the interim order passed

by this Court, while setting aside the award of

reinstatement passed by the Labour Court and

relegating the matter back.

5. As this is a case of utter non-compliance of the

order of this Court and the appellant has approached

this Court after a period of unexplained delay, we

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are of the view that interest at the rate of 6% per

annum is to be awarded to the respondent workman on

the total amount of wages payable under Section - 17B

from the date of the order of this Court in the writ

petition till the date of actual payment.

6. Subject to the above observations and

directions, the appeal stands dismissed.

Consequently, the connected Civil Application also

stands disposed of.

(SUNITA AGARWAL, CJ )

(N.V.ANJARIA, J) GAURAV J THAKER