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1988 Supreme(Del) 264

High Court Of Delhi
CO OPERATIVE STORE LIMITED - Appellant
Versus
K S KHURANA - Respondent
Civil 2827 of 1987
Decided On : 09/22/1988

Advocates Appeared:
ASHOK AGARWAL, R.M.Bagai

The provisions of Section 33 C (2) of the Industrial Disputes Act are applicable to claims for amounts due to workmen on account of weekly holidays, and the Delhi Shops Act is complementary to the Industrial Disputes Act and does not exclude the applicability of any other Act.

Headnote:

INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES ACT - SECTION 33 C (2) - DELHI SHOPS AND ESTABLISHMENTS ACT, 1954 - SECTIONS 17, 18 - MINIMUM WAGES ACT, 1948 - NOTIFICATION DATED DECEMBER 31, 1979 - LIMITATION ACT, 1963 - ARTICLE 137 - WORKMEN'S CLAIM FOR WEEKLY OFF DAY PAYMENT - JURISDICTION OF LABOUR COURT - APPLICABILITY OF DELHI SHOPS ACT - LIMITATION - EVIDENCE - HELD, LABOUR COURT HAS JURISDICTION TO ENTERTAIN CLAIM - DELHI SHOPS ACT IS COMPLEMENTARY TO INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES ACT - NO LIMITATION FOR CLAIMS UNDER SECTION 33 C (2) OF INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES ACT - LABOUR COURT JUSTIFIED IN BASING FINDINGS ON MATERIAL PRODUCED BY WORKMEN.

Fact of the Case:

Workers of a Super Bazar filed claims under Section 33 C (2) of the Industrial Disputes Act for payment of amounts due to them on account of weekly holidays. The claims were opposed by the Super Bazar on the grounds that the Labour Court had no jurisdiction, the claims were not cognizable under Section 33 C (2), and the workers were not entitled to such payments as their wages had been fixed in compliance with a notification issued under the Minimum Wages Act.

Finding of the Court:

The court held that the Labour Court had jurisdiction to entertain the claims, as the provisions of Section 33 C (2) of the Industrial Disputes Act were applicable to the case. The court also held that the Delhi Shops Act was complementary to the Industrial Disputes Act and did not exclude the applicability of any other Act. Further, the court held that there was no limitation period for bringing a claim under Section 33 C (2) of the Industrial Disputes Act and that the Labour Court was justified in basing its findings on the material produced by the workers.

Issues: 1. Whether the Labour Court had jurisdiction to entertain the claims of the workers. 2. Whether the Delhi Shops Act excluded the applicability of the Industrial Disputes Act. 3. Whether the claims of the workers were barred by limitation. 4. Whether the Labour Court was justified in basing its findings on the material produced by the workers.

Ratio Decidendi: 1. The provisions of Section 33 C (2) of the Industrial Disputes Act were applicable to the case, as the claims of the workers were for amounts due to them on account of weekly holidays, which is a benefit capable of being computed in terms of money. 2. The Delhi Shops Act was complementary to the Industrial Disputes Act and did not exclude the applicability of any other Act, as both legislations were social legislations for giving succour to the weaker sections of the society. 3. There was no limitation period for bringing a claim under Section 33 C (2) of the Industrial Disputes Act, as the provisions of the Limitation Act, 1963, were not applicable to such claims. 4. The Labour Court was justified in basing its findings on the material produced by the workers, as the Super Bazar had not preserved the record of the period prior to 1981.

Final Decision: The court dismissed the writ petition filed by the Super Bazar, leaving the parties to bear their own costs.

P. K. BAHRI. J.

( 1 ) THIS writ petition has been brought under Articles 226 and 227 of the Consntution of India seeking quashment of order April 16, 1987, made by respondent No. 1.

( 2 ) THE facts, in brief, are that the petitioner is running Super Bazars and respondents 2 to 67 are its workers. They were being paid wages on piece-rate basis for packing of various commodities being sold at various branches of Super Bazars owned by the petitioner. Respondents 2 to 67 had filed petitions under Section 33 C (2) of the Industrial Disputes Act (for short the Act ) claiming payment of amounts alleged to be due to them on account of weekly holidays. These claim petitions were filed before the Labour Court under the Act. The claim petitions were opposed by the petitioner, inter alia, on the ground that the Labour Court had no jurisdicition to entertain the claims which allegedly arise under The provisions of Delhi Shops and C Establishments Act, 1954, and the claims are also not consizable under Section 33 C (2) of the Act and more over respondents 2 to 67 were not entitled to any such payments for weekly off days inasmuch as their wages had been fixed in compliance with the notification issued by the Delhi Administration dated December 31, 1979, under the Minimum Wages Act which clearly provided that no, separate. payment is to be made for weekly off days. It was also pleaded that the claims were barred by time and could be enforced only under Section 21 of the Delhi Shops and Establishments Act (for short delhi Shops Act ) before the authority constituted under Delhi Shops Act.

( 3 ) THE petition is contested by the respondents who have pleaded that their claims are very much covered by the provisions of Section 33 C (2) of the Act and that the said notification issued by the Delhi Administration under the Minimum Wages Act was not applicable to their case and that the provisions of Delhi Shops Act did not bar the jurisdiction, of the Labour Court under the Act to entertain such a claim and that there is no limitation prescribed for bringing the claims under Section 33 of the Act. They also pleaded that even before the filing of the writ petition a final order has been made by the Labour Court on July 23, 1987, allowing the different amounts to respondents 2 to 67. However, it was agreed before me that the petitioner may be allowed to even impugn the said final order in this writ petition because that order has to obviously go if the preliminary order passed by the Labour Court is set aside, it is, indeed, not in dispute that the claim of respondents 2 to 67 put up before the Labour Court was based on provisions of Sections 17 and 18 of the Delhi Shops Act Section 17 contemplates observance of one weekly holiday hi every week Which is to betreated as a paid holiday. It was clearly mentioned in Section 18 that if an employee is paid on piece rates he shall receive the average of the wages received during the week for a weekly holiday. Counsel for the petitioner has contended that provisions of Section 33 C (2) of the Act did not contemplate entertainment of disputed claims. He has cited Central Inland Water Transport Corporation. Limited v. The Workmen and Another, AIR 1974 SC 1604 (1), in which it has been laid down that "a proceeding under Section 33 C (2) is a proceeding, generally, in the nature of an execution proceeding wherein the Labour Court calculates the amount of money due to a workman from his employer or if the workman is entitled to any benefit which is capable of being computed in terms of money, the Labour Court proceedings to compute the benefit in terms of money. This calculation or computation follows upon an existing right to the money or benefit, in view of its being previously adjudged, or, otherwise duly provided for. ", do not understand how these observations of the Supreme Court are of any help to the petitioner to show that the claim put up by the respondents before the Labour Court was not of the natur






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