Om Prakash Singh vs The State Of Bihar And Ors
2022 Latest Caselaw 5377 Patna

          IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                     Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.1071 of 2019
     ======================================================

Om Prakash Singh Son of Durga Prasad Singh, Resident of Sree Nagar Hata, P.S. K. Hatt, District- Purnea.

... ... Petitioner/s Versus

1. The State Of Bihar and Ors through the Principal secretary, Labour Resources Department, Government of Bihar, Patna.

2. The Deputy Labour Commissioner, Bhagalpur.

3. The Assistant labour Commissioner, Purnea Division, Katihar.

4. The Certificate Officer, Katihar.

5. District Manager Bihar State Food and Civil Supply Corporation, K-Hatt, District- Purnea.

6. Managing Director, Bihar State Food and Civil Supply Corporation, Sone Bhawan, Veer Chand Patel Path, Patna.

7. Kanta Mahto, Sardar Tola, Gulabbagh, Thana- Sadar Purnea.

... ... Respondent/s ====================================================== Appearance :

For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Sanjeev Kumar, Advocate. For the Respondent/s : Ms. Anuradha Singh, SC to GP-21 For the Respondent no. 7: Mr. Ashok Kumar, Advocate.

Mr. Ram prawesh Kumar, Advocate.

For the BSFC : Mr. Shailendra Kumar Singh, Advocate ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HARISH KUMAR

ORAL JUDGMENT Date : 21-12-2022 Heard Mr. Sanjeev Kumar, learned counsel for the

petitioner; Mr. Ashok Kumar, learned counsel for the respondent

no. 7; Mr. Shailendra Kumar Singh, learned counsel for the Bihar

State Food and Civil Supply Corporation and Ms. Anuradha Singh,

learned SC to GP-21 for the State.

The present writ petition has been filed for the following

reliefs:-

(i) Issuance of writ in the nature of certiorari for quashing the order dated 28.11.2018 passed in Patna High Court CWJC No.1071 of 2019 dt.21-12-2022

M.W. Appeal Case No. 02/2018 passed by the Deputy Labour Commissioner-cum-Appellate Tribunal, Bhagalpur whereby and where under the Respondent No. 3 has been pleased to dismiss the said case ex- parte without hearing the petitioner on the grounds of limitation without going into the merits of the case.

(ii) Issuance of writ in the nature of certiorari for quashing the order dated 21.12.2016 passed by the Respondent No. 4 in favour of Respondent No. 8 in Case No. M.W.(1)-12/2016 and ordered the petitioner, Respondent No. 6 and Respondent No. 7 to pay a total sum of Rs. 11,99,856/- (eleven lacs ninety nine thousand eight hundred and fifty six only) to the Respondent No. 8 and sixteen other labourers ex-parte without hearing the petitioner.

(iii) Further issuance of order/direction to quash the order dated 29.10.2018 passed by the Certificate Officer, Katihar in Certificate Case NO. 01.17-18 by which the Distress warrant (D.W.) has been issued against the petitioner.

(iv) To pass such other orders as may deem fit and proper.

The short facts which led to the filing of the present writ

petition is that the Respondent No. 8, framing himself to be leader

of the Labour Union along with 16 other labourers, filed a case of

Minimum Wages Act, 1948 before the Assistant Labour

Commissioner-cum-Authority under the Minimum Wages Act,

Purnea Division, Katihar on 05.04.2016, registered as Case No.

M.W. (1) 12/2016 stating therein that Respondent No. 8 along with

16 other labourers had done the unloading work of rice and wheat Patna High Court CWJC No.1071 of 2019 dt.21-12-2022

from godown no. 1 & 2 situated at Gulab Bagh Bazar Samiti,

Purnea from 25.10.2014 to 18.01.2015 and for the said period they

have not been paid minimum wages.

It is the case of the petitioner that in the aforesaid case,

notices were issued to the petitioner but he could never receive any

notice and further, first time he came to know when a warrant

against him was issued in the Certificate Case No. 01 of 2018 on

the basis of the order dated 21.12.2016 passed by the Assistant

Labour Commissioner-cum-Authority under the Minimum Wages

Act for recovery of the said amount.

Having come to know about the order passed by the

Assistant Labour Commissioner-cum-Authority, the petitioner

preferred an Appeal bearing No. (M.W.)-02/18 before the Deputy

Labour Commissioner-cum-Appellate Authority, Bhagalpur,

however, the same stood dismissed on the ground of limitation

vide its order dated 28.11.2018.

The petitioner has assailed the impugned order dated

21.12.2016 as also the order dated 28.11.2018 by filing the present

writ application on various grounds including the same is

hopelessly time barred in view of Section 20(2) of the Minimum

Wages Act, 1948, which clearly stipulates as follows:-

"Where an employee has any claim of the nature referred to in sub-section (1), the employee Patna High Court CWJC No.1071 of 2019 dt.21-12-2022

himself, or any legal practitioner or any official of a registered trade union authorized in writing to act on his behalf, or any Inspector, or any person acting with permission of the Authority appointed under sub-section (1), may apply to such Authority for a direction under sub-section(3):

Provided that every such application shall be presented within six months from the date on which the minimum wages (or other amount) became payable.

Provided further that any application may be admitted after the said period of six months when the applicant satisfies the Authority that he had sufficient cause for not making the application within such period."

Learned counsel for the petitioner further submits that

from the record, it is evident that the claim of the private

respondents regarding minimum wages is with respect to the

period from 25.10.2014 to 18.01.2015 and as such the same is

completely barred under Section 20(2) of the Minimum Wages

Act, 1948, thereafter at no point of time any application for

condonation of delay has been filed, save and except the

statements made in paragraph no. 10 of the application filed before

the Assistant Labour Commissioner that delay has occurred on

account of conciliation between the employer and the employee.

Reliance has also been made on a judgement rendered by the

learned Division Bench of this Hon'ble Court in the case of Patna High Court CWJC No.1071 of 2019 dt.21-12-2022

Gango Sharma Vs. The State of Bihar & Ors. reported in 2003

(2) PLJR 671 and further relied upon one another judgement of

the Division Bench of this Hon'ble Court rendered in the case of

Hira Lal Vs. The State of Bihar & Ors. reported in 2014 (2)

PLJR 714.

Learned counsel for the petitioner vehemently submits

that the ratio laid down by this Court in the aforementioned

judgements is as follows:-

"if an employee making an application for non-payment of minimum wages, his initial claim could only be considered provided an application was filed within a period of six months to lay claim on payments not made during this period, only thereafter, for sufficient cause shown should the appellant sustain an application for claims beyond this period and on this also there has to be a reasoned order why the extended claim has been permitted".

He further submits that there is neither any application

filed by the private respondents nor the impugned order speaks the

reason for condonation of delay.

Mr. Shailendra Kumar Singh, learned counsel for the BSFC

also submits that prima facie from the order impugned herein

suggests that the impugned order is not based on any evidences Patna High Court CWJC No.1071 of 2019 dt.21-12-2022

nor the witnesses were examined and though there was a dispute in

between the transporter and the labourers, however, the direction

has been given to the BSFC also to compensate the laborers, which

is wholly without jurisdiction.

Per contra, Mr. Ashok Kumar, learned counsel for the

private respondent submits that as the respondent has already

made a prayer in the petition for condonation of the delay, the

same would be enough for the authority to consider for

condonation of delay and there is no infirmity in the impugned

order passed by the Assistant labour Commissioner, Purnea

Division, Katihar as well as Deputy Labour Commissioner-cum

Appellate Authority, Bhagalpur.

Having heard the learned counsels for the parties and

considering the materials available on record, this court finds

substance in the submissions made on behalf of the learned

counsel for the petitioner as well as the respondents no. 5 & 6.

It is pertinent to observe that Section 20(2) of the

Minimum Wages Act, 1948 clearly bars the presentation of any

application, if not filed within six months, from the date on which

the minimum wages become payable, provided the applicant has

sufficient cause for not making the application within time.

Patna High Court CWJC No.1071 of 2019 dt.21-12-2022

From the materials, it also appears that at no point of

time any application for condonation of delay has been filed and

the impugned order also does not speak with regard to any

consideration for condoning the delay. The judgement rendered by

the learned Division Bench of this Hon'ble Court also covers the

issue involved in this writ petition and as such, in view of the

aforesaid facts, circumstances and the position obtaining in law,

the writ petition is hereby allowed and the impugned order dated

21.12.2016 passed by the Assistant Labour Commissioner, Purnea

Division, Katihar, order dated 28.11.2018 in appeal bearing no.

(M.W.)-02/18 passed by the Deputy Labour Commissioner-cum-

Appellate Authority, Bhagalpur and any consequential orders are

hereby set aside.

(Harish Kumar, J)

shakir/-

AFR/NAFR                NAFR
CAV DATE                N.A.
Uploading Date          23.12.2022
Transmission Date       N.A.