- (1.) THE above mentioned 11 petitions have been preferred by the Project Manager Rajasthan State Tungsten Development Corporation and another to quash the orders passed by the Payment of Wages Authority (to be hereinafter referred to as the Authority on the applications of Bhanwaroo, Sundari, Man Singh, Rajendra Singh, Devi Singh, Chunilal Chhoga, Heera, Sundari Devi, Krishna and Prabhu (to be hereinafter referred to as the applicants) against the petitioners (to be hereinafter referred to as the Corporation ).
(2.) IN all the 11 applications filed before the Payment of Wages Authority the Corporation either did not appear and file reply or failed to lead evidence in rebuttal. Therefore, the cases proceeded ex parte. The Authority directed the Corporation to make payment of the wages of the applicants, which were not paid to them for the periods stated in their applications alongwith 10 times compensation. The Corporation then made applications before the Authority for recalling the directions given ex parte in all the 11 cases, but the applications were dismissed by the Payment of Wages Authority. Since common questions of law and facts have arisen in all these writ petitions, they have been heard together and are being disposed of by this Order.
(3.) IN the petitions, it has been averred that the applicants (respondent No. 4 in all the petitions) who had filed applications before the Authority had absented from duty and even charge-sheets were given to them for their absence and therefore the Authority had no jurisdiction to entertain the application. It has been further averred that in some of the cases the Corporation was not afforded opportunity to file reply, and in others it was not given an opportunity to lead evidence and the cases proceeded ex parte against it. It has been stated that industrial dispute had been raised by the applicants and therefore the Authority had no jurisdiction to give directions,;