Mitra,J. - (1.) The short but interesting question involved in this case is, whether an employee of a Street Milk Depot/Booth under the authority of the Milk Commissioner, West Bengal comes within the purview of the West Bengal Shops and Establishments Act, 1963.
(2.) The facts of the case, inter alia, are that the petitioner filed an application in Form No. 'N' under the West Bengal Shops and Establishment Act, 1963 for recovery of wages for the period from 18.2.1981 to 13.4.1981 as leave wages and from 14.4.1981 to 30.4.1981 as earned wages amounting to Rs. 140/- and compensation amounting to Rs. 1,400/- being 10 times of the due wages treating such non-payment of wages as deduction of wages, against the Milk Commissioner, West Bengal. Such application was filed on 8th of December, 1982. Notice in Form No. 'O' under the West Bengal Shops and Establishment Rules, 1964 was duly served upon the Milk Commissioner, West Bengal who appeared and opposed the said application of the petitioner both on the ground of limitation and also on the ground of maintainability. It was contended inter alia on behalf of the Milk Commissioner, West Bengal that under the law the petitioner should have filed such application within 6 months from the date when the deduction of wages had been made or from the date as referred to in Sub-section (1) of Section 14 of the West Bengal Shops and Establishments Act, 1963 as the case may be, and admittedly the application haying been filed on 8th of December, 1982 claiming for wages from 18.2.81 to 30.4.81, was time-barred. The second contention on behalf of the opposite party was that since the petitioner worked in an office of the State Government, the West Bengal Shops and Establishments Act, 1963 would not be made applicable so far as the petitioner was concerned in view of the specific provisions of Section 4(1) of the said Act. It was, however, contended on behalf of the petitioner before the authority concerned that since he was appointed to work at a Milk Booth at Amherst Street, where commercial transactions took place, such booth could not be held to be an office of the State Government and as such his application was very much maintainable under the Shops and Establishments Act, 1963. The referee, before whom the said application was heard, however, by his order dated 18th July, 1983 rejected the same, holding inter alia, that the application was time-barred and the petitioner did not also file any application for condonation of delay and the aforesaid Act was not applicable in the case of the petitioner. An appeal against the said order was preferred by the petitioner in the Court of Small Causes of Calcutta being W.B.S.E.A. No. 57 of 1983 and the learned Chief Judge, Court of Small Causes, Calcutta by his order dated 18th July, 1987 dismissed the said appeal by confirming the findings of the referee. An application under Section 115 of the Code of Civil Procedure read with Section s 5 and 12 of the Limitation Act, 1963 has been filed by the petitioner challenging the said appellate order.
(3.) So far as the delay in filing the present revisional application is concerned, the petitioner sought to explain the delay in paragraph No. 8 of the application and going through the averments made therein, it appears to me that the petitioner has been able to explain such delay effectively. Accordingly, the delay in moving the present revjsional application is condoned.;