- (1.) IN this petition is raised a question of importance to the manganese mining industry. The question raised relates to the applicability of the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, to persons employed in stone breaking and stone crushing operations carried on at the mines. The petition is moved at the instance of a limited liability, non-profit-making Company registered under Section 26 of the Indian Companies Act. The petitioner claims to represent its 65 associated members owning 230 manganese mines, and since the question raised is one of the applicability of the Act to the industry as a whole, we have permitted the petitioner to move the petition though no right special to the petitioner has been shown to be infringed. Moreover, the respondents did not object at the hearing to the petitioner being allowed to represent its members without any particular injury, or infringement of right being made out.
(2.) THE facts upon which the petition is founded lie within a short compass. The Minimum Wages Act (XI of 1948) came into force on 15th March, 1948. Section 2 (b) read with Section 3 of the Act gives the Central Government the power to make notifications in regard to any scheduled employments in mines to which the Act should apply, but the President acting under his powers under Article 258 of the Constitution has delegated his powers to the State Government by a notification No. S. R. O. 2052, dated 11th December, 1951. Acting under that delegation, the then State of Madhya Pradesh (now represented by the State of Bombay, respondent No. 2) issued a notification No. 352-257-XXIII on 30th March, 1952, adding an entry in the Schedule to the Act and so the provisions of the ACT came to be applied to "employment in stone breaking or in stone crushing operations carried on in mines". It was the petitioner's case that in pursuance of this notification, "respondent No. 1 has now threatened large scale prosecution on the footing that the Act is made applicable to the manganese mining industry and his officers have been purporting to inspect various mines of the petitioner's members and point out alleged contraventions of the Act".
(3.) BEFORE we state the question that is raised, it would be appropriate to refer to certain provisions of the Minimum Wages Act. Sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the Act runs as follows : "3. Fixing of minimum rates of wages -- (1) The appropriate Government shall, in the manner hereinafter provided.- (a) fix the minimum rates of wages payable to employees employed - (i) in an employment specified in Part I of the Schedule at the commencement of this Act, before the 31st day of December, 1954: (ii) in an employment specified in Part II of the Schedule at the commencement of this Act, before the 31st day of December, 1954; provided that the appropriate Government may, instead of fixing minimum rates of wages under this sub-clause for the whole State, fix such rates for a part of the State or for any specified class or classes of such employment in the whole State or part thereof; and (iii) in an employment added to Parti I or Part II of the Schedule by notification under Section 27, before the expiry of one year from the date of the notification; (b) review at such intervals as it may think fit, such intervals not exceeding five years, the minimum rates of wages so fixed and revise the minimum rates, if necessary. " The word 'employer' is defined in Section 2 (e) as follows: " 'employer' means any person who employs, whether directly or through another person, or whether on behalf of himself or any other person, one or more employees in any scheduled employment in respect of which minimum rates of wages have been fixed under this Act, and includes, except in Sub-section (3) of Section 26,- - (i) in a factory where there is carried on any scheduled employment in respect of which minimum rates of wages have been fixed under this Act, any person named under Clause (f) of Sub-section (1) of Section 7 of the Factories Act, 1948 (LXIII of 1948), as manager of the factory; (ii) in any scheduled employment under the control of any Government in India in respect of which minimum rates of wages have been fixed under this Act, the person or authority appointed by such Government for the supervision and control of employees or where no person or authority is so appointed, the head of the department; (iii) in any scheduled employment under any local authority in respect of which minimum rates of wages have been fixed under this Act, the person appointed by such authority for the supervision and control of employees or where no person is so appointed, the chief executive officer of the local authority; (iv) in any other case where there is carried on any scheduled employment in respect of which minimum rates of wages have been fixed under this Act, any person responsible to the owner for the supervision and control of the employees or for the payment of wages. " 'scheduled employment' is defined in Section 2 (g) as follows : " 'scheduled employment' means an employment specified in the schedule, or any process or branch of work forming part of such employment. " Entry No. 8 in Part I of Schedule A appended to the Act was in the following terms: "employment in stone breaking or stone crushing. " By a notification No. 352-257-XXIII, dated 30th March, 1952, however, the then State Government of Madhya Pradesh fixed the minimum rates of wages in respect of this particular employment, mentioned as "employment in stone breaking or in stone crushing operations carried on in the mines". It may here be stated that the vires of this notification, though challenged in the petition, was not challenged before us, and therefore the only question that remains is one of interpretation of the relevant provisions of the entry introduced by the notification we have reproduced above.;