Judgment

VAIDIALINGAM, J. :- This appeal by special leave, is against the Award dated October 24, 1967 of the Additional Industrial Tribunal, Delhi, in I. D. No. 34 of 1966.

2. Two disputes between the Workmen of the Delhi Electric Supply Undertaking and the Management of the Delhi Electric Supply Undertaking were referred by the Chief Commissioner, Delhi, for adjudication to the Additional Industrial Tribunal, Delhi. Those two disputes were I. D. No. 34 of 1966 and I. D. No. 102 of 1966. A common Award in both the disputes was given by the Tribunal. This Court has granted by its order dated May 1, 1968 special leave limited to the following points :

"(1) Whether the Inspectors and Superintendents required to work beyond their normal duty hours are entitled to payment of overtime for the extra time and what directions are necessary in this respect.

(2) Whether conveyance allowance to Inspectors and Superintendents needs to be increased and what directions are necessary in this respect."

3. The Delhi area served by the Undertaking is divided into a number of zones. Technical staff is attached to each zone. At the head of the Staff is an Assistant Engineer. Next to him is a Technical Superintendent and there are Inspectors below him. The staff looks after the operation, maintenance and construction of the distribution system. The workmen covered by both the points, regarding which special leave has been granted, are persons working either in the sub-stations or the zonal stations. The demand of the Technical Superintendents and Inspectors in the sub-stations and zonal stations was that their hours of duty and other conditions of service should be fixed in the same manner as those of the employees working in the power stations which have been registered as factories under the Factories Act, 1948. On this basis, the Superintendents and the Inspectors claimed that they should be paid over-time wages for the extra time they work over and above their normal hours of duty. This claim was pressed on the basis that the workmen in the power stations get such payment for over-time work.

4. This claim was contested by the Undertaking on the ground that the power station has alone been registered as a factory under the Factories Act, and neither the sub-stations nor the zonal stations have been treated as a factory as in law those two areas are not a factory under Section 2 (m) of the Factories Act. The respondent further pleaded that the payment of over-time wages was being paid to the workmen in the power station not under the Factories Act but under clause (D) of Regulation 17 of the Service Regulations framed under Section 79 (c) of the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948.

5. The claim of the appellants regarding the conveyance allowance was for revision of the allowance fixed by the respondent by its order dated April 10, 1964. Their grievance was that while the motor-car allowance to the higher grade officers was being increased from time to time, no such increment has been made in respect of these two classes of employees. Their plea was that the conveyance allowance must be fixed at Rs. 120/- per month for the Superintendents and Rs. 80/- per month for the Inspectors.

6. This claim again was contested by the respondent on the ground that the order dated April 10, 1964 was issued with retrospective effect from July 1, 1963 after a very careful consideration of all relevant circumstances including the allowance that was being give to the Central Government employees on the recommendation of the Pay Commission. The basis of allowance fixed under the order dated April 10, 1964 was scientific one and as such no further increase is permissible for these workmen.

7. The Tribunal held that the service conditions of the appellants were governed by the Regulations framed under the Electricity (Supply) Act which still continues to be in force. Under the said Regulation no over-time wages have been allowed to Technical Superintendents and Inspectors and ther