Judgment :

Vinod Chatterji Koul, J.

1. Quashment of Order dated 7th December 2013, passed by the Authority under Payment of Wages Act, 1936 (Assistant Labour Commissioner) District Anantnag, (for short “Authority”) on a claim petition titled Mohammad Maqbool Ganai and others v. Director Rural Development and others, is prayed for in writ petition on hand.

2. The case set up in writ petition is that in the early 90’s taking undue advantage of abnormal situation in the valley, the unscrupulous elements made uncouth attempts to cause damage to the public exchequer by trying to gain entry into different departments of the State Government on the strength of fake and forged orders and Rural Development Department was worst hit by such criminal acts. Similarly, it is next stated, respondents 2 to 11 have also manipulated some documents and tried to gain entry into Rural Development Department. Their cases were thoroughly investigated by the agencies and it was found that their appointment orders were fake and forged. They along with other 138 alleged daily rated workers approached this court with a writ petition, being SWP No.13/1999, for release of wages and regularization of their services, which was disposed of vide order dated 11.01.1999 with the following relief/direction:

“The petitioners shall file a representation before the respondents within two weeks and if they do so, it shall be obligatory upon the respondents to consider and dispose of the same within a period of three months, which period shall be reckoned from the date this order alongwith representation is served on the respondents.

Petitioners shall be also paid wages for the period they have worked on the post.”

3. It is next submitted by petitioners that ion pursuance of the directions passed vide order dated 11.01.1999 in SWP No. 13/1999, the matter was considered and appointment orders of petitioners were proved fake, and resultantly, the matter was referred to Finance Department constituted by the Government to consider all these cases. In the year 2005, respondents 2 to 11 again filed one more SWP No.658/ 2005 before this Court, on identical grounds, which too met the same fate. It is stated that respondents 2 to 11 after 17 years again filed a vexatious claim under Section 15 of Payment of Wages Act before Respondent No.1 (Assistant Labour Commissioner, Anantnag) claiming therein release of wages with effect from 1997 till 2012. Respondents before Assistant Labour Commissioner – petitioners herein, also filed their objections in opposition to claim petition, insisting that claimants were neither engaged nor worked as daily rated workers, so their claim was sought to be rejected. However, the Authority allowed the claim and passed a direction/order on 07.12.2013, upon petitioners herein to pay an amount of Rs.7,92,000/- to respondents 2 to 11. Aggrieved of the order/direction passed by respondent No. 1 (Assistant Labour Commissioner, Anantnag), the petitioners have come up with writ petition on hand and seek its quashment.

4. Objections have been filed by respondents 2 to 11, in which they insist that writ petition is not maintainable as petitioners are having an alternative efficacious remedy available under Section 17 of the Payment of Wages Act, which is a proper remedy for deciding the subject-matter of the present writ petition. Further, it involves complicated questions of facts upon which finding has been recorded by the Authority under Payment of Wages Act and the said finding of fact cannot be disputed in extraordinary writ jurisdiction of this Court. It is also contended that petitioners want to avail present remedy in order to circumvent requirements of law on two counts. Firstly, the petitioners have not filed any appeal under Section 17 of Payment of Wages Act before the Competent Authority, i.e., concerned District Judge as the appeal under Section 17 of the Payment of Wages Act is to be filed within 30 days from the date of the order and writ pe