- (1.) THIS is a revision application by Indian Dairy Enterpreneure Agricultural Company Ltd. (for short, "the Company") having registered office at Bhawanisingh Road, Jaipur and factory at Raniware, District Jalore which was non-applicant (opposite-party) before the Authority under the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 (No. IV of 1936) (which will hereinafter be referred to as "the Act") and is directed against the order of the District Judge, Jodhpur dated April 6, 1978 by which he accepted the appeal of the respondent who was applicant before the Authority under the Act and set aside the order dated September 1, 1977 by which the claim under Section 15 of the Act was rejected.
(2.) THE facts leading to this revision, briefly put, are there: The respondent Shri G. P. Udawat was employed on June 8, 1973 by the company on a consolidated salary of Rs. 500 per month and was posted at Raniwara. His work was to meet the local people and survey the area for the purpose of proposed establishment of a dairy industry at Raniwara as at the relevant time, there was neither any factory nor any establishment nor any office of the company at Raniwara. According to the company, his appointment was in an "administrative category" and there were not fixed hours of working. His services were finally terminated by the company on February 27, 1975. During the period of his working as stated by the petitioner, he took more than earned leave. On December 2, 1975, the respondent Shri Udawat (applicant before the Authority) submitted a claim under Section 15 (2) of the Act before the Authority under the Act at Jodhpur for Rs. 3,416. 66 p. alleging that this amount was due from the company on account of wages, leave dues and overtime wages for the period from June 8, 1973 to July, 1974. The details of the claim were mentioned in the Annexure appended to the application under Section 15 (2) of the Act. The company submitted its reply to the claim on March 18, 1976. The claim was resisted on various grounds. Three preliminary objections regarding the maintainability of the claim were also raised in the reply. The first preliminary objection was that the Act applied to the person employed on wages not exceeding Rs. 400 per month and since the respondent was admittedly getting Rs. 500 per month, the amendment of the Act enlarging its application to a person drawing upto Rs. 1,000 having come into force in November, 1975, much after the respondent had ceased to be an employee of the company and much later than the alleged cause of action for the claim arose, the Authority had no jurisdiction to entertain it. The second preliminary objection was that the alleged claim of the respondent was time-barred, for, the cause of action for each month's salary and other dues arose at the end of each month and a claim for the same could be filed within 12 months thereof. The third preliminary objection was that the claim of the respondent is not covered by the provisions of Section 15 of the Act because it was not a claim for any deduction from wages nor delay in payment of wages. According to the company, the respondent has made a claim for the work not done and for wages not due. The Authority dealt with the point of jurisdiction first and by its order dated September 1, 1977, held that it had no jurisdiction to hear and decide the claim application and rejected the same. In view of the aforesaid finding on the point of jurisdiction, it did not consider proper to decide the other points.
(3.) AGAINST the order dated September 1, 1977 passed by the Authority, the respondent preferred an appeal under Section 17 of the Act before the learned District Judge, Jodhpur, who by his order dated April 6, 1978 accepted the appeal of the respondent and set aside the order of the Authority holding that on the date, the claim application was presented by respondent, that is, December 2, 1975, Sub-section (6) of Section 1 of the Act stood amended and so his claim application was maintainable. He, therefore, remitted the case back to the Authority for deciding it afresh in accordance with law.;