The Minimum Wages Act does not intend for proceedings for payment of minimum wages to be the exclusive preserve of the authority appointed under S.20.

1. Respondents (1) and (2) are compositors of the printing press belonging to the petitioner. In October, 1975 they filed a joint petition before the Labour Court, under S 33 - C (2) of the Industrial Disputes Act, claiming difference between wages actually paid and wages payable under the Minimum Wages Act. The 1st respondent's claim was for the period from 1-8-1967 to 30-9-1975 and the 2nd respondent's for the period from 1-2-1969 to 30-9-1975. Overruling the objections of the petitioner-employer, the Labour Court held that the respondents were entitled to get Rs. 3, 405/-and Rs. 1, 596/-respecti-vely. This writ petition is directed against Ext. P6 order of the Labour Court.

2. It was contended before the Labour Court that the petitioner was bound to pay wages only at the rates specified in Ext. P5 agreement of 1974. That contention was rightly rejected by the Court in the light of S.25 of the Minimum Wages Act. which declares as void all contracts or agreements providing for payment of wages at rates lower than those fixed under the Act. The petitioner may be right in bis contention that the belated claims for arrears, for more than 8 years in one case and 6 years in the other, were filed as a measure of retaliation against disciplinary action, and that but for such action, the employees were willing to receive the rates of remuneration fixed in Ext. P5. But that cannot affect the operation of S 25 of the Act; nor was the Labour Court competent to reject the claims on the basis of Ext. P5.

3. The more important point raised before the Labour Court was that claims enforceable under the Minimum Wages Act could not be agitated in proceedings under S 33-C(2) of the Industrial Disputes Act. The Labour Court observed that even barred claims under the Minimum Wages Act could be advanced in a petition filed under S.33-C (2) of the Industrial Disputes Act. Counsel for the petitioner is apparently justified in contending that the scope of the objection has not been fully examined by the Labour Court. The objection urged in Ext. P2 was in the following terms:

"The opposite party submits that the petition is not maintainable under S.33-C (2) of the Industrial Disputes Act. The claims made in the petition are for a computation of wages under the Minimum Wages Act, which is not entertainable under the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act. The Minimum Wages Act provides the machinery for realising the amounts due to the workmen who are paid less than the minimum. S.20 of the Minimum Wages Act specifically provides the machinery and the authority is also appointed who alone has got the exclusive authority and power to grant the prayers claimed in the petition. The petition is hence not maintainable."

Clearly, the objection was not to entertainment of barred claims only, but to claims of any kind, on the footing that S.20 of the Minimum Wages Act provided for a machinery for enforcing claims under it, and that consequently, such claims were outside the scope of S.33-C(2) of the Industrial Disputes Act. In other words, claims enforceable under S.20 of the Minimum Wages Act could be enforced only by the authority appointed under that provision, and not by an authority appointed for different purposes under a different enactment.

4. Drawing inspiration from the decision of the Supreme Court in State of Punjab v. Labour Court (1981-1 LLJ. 354), counsel now puts his point on a clearer basis by contending that the Minimum Wages Act is a self-contained code incorporating all provisions relating to payment of Minimum Wages, and that its provisions impliedly exclude recourse to any other forum.

5. S.20 of the Minimum Wages Act reads:

"20. Claims. (1) The appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint any Commissioner for Workmen's Compensation or any Officer of the Central Government exercising functions as a Labour Commissioner for any region, or any officer of the State Government not below the rank of Labou