Chandra Reddy, CJ. - (1.) In this appeal against the Judgment of our learned brother, Jaganmohan Reddy, J., in W.P. No. 624 of 1961, the jurisdiction of the Authority appointed under section 15 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 (IV of 1936) (hereinafter referred to as the Wages Act) to entertain objections regarding the deductions made under the Employees' State Insurance Act (XXXIV of 1948) (hereinafter called the Act) is challenged.
(2.) The appellant is the Azam Jahi Mills Ltd., situated at Warangal, respondents 2 to 7 being the employees thereof. Respondent 1 is the Authority appointed under section 15 of the Wages Act. Complaining that the appellant had made some unauthorised deductions, from out of their leave salary during the relevant months towards sickness benefit, respondents 2 to 7 filed a petition under section 15 for recovery of these amounts. The appellant challenged the jurisdiction of the Authority to entertain the objections but this plea was overruled. The appellant then approached this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution to interdict the first respondent by a Writ of Prohibition or by any other appropriate writ prohibiting him from hearing the claim of respondents 2 to 7. The Writ etition was dismissed by our learned brother, Jaganmohan Reddy, J., in the view that it was competent for the Authority appointed under section 15 of the Wages Act to entertain the objections. It is this conclusion of our learned brother that is canvassed before us.
(3.) It is urged by Sri B. V. Subrahmanyam, learned counsel for the appellant, that the Wages Act is inapplicable to the present case and that it is the relevant provisions of the Employees' State Insurance Act that govern this case. It is maintained by the learned Counsel that the Act being a comprehensive one providing inter alia for making contributions by the employers towards sickness and other benefits to the employees, for regulating the conditions under which the sickness benefit could be availed of by the employees and the remedies to be availed of by the employers or the employees, it is this Act alone that should be invoked and not the Wages Act.;