- (1.) PETITIONER by this writ petition has prayed that the award given by the Authority under the Payment of Wages Act dated September 22, 1986 may be quashed.
(2.) PETITIONER the Jodhpur Central Co-operative Bank Ltd. , has filed this writ petition and submitted that the respondent, their employee Nairn Singh filed a claim application under Section 15 (2) of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 (hereinafter referred to as the Act of 1936) and claimed the over-time wages for working on the days which were declared as holidays under Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881. It is alleged that the declared holidays are June 30, 1984, December 31, 1984, June 29, 1985 and December 31, 1985. But the Authority disallowed the claim of the petitioner with regard to the over time claimed for working on June 30, 1984 being barred by time. An objection was also raised regarding the jurisdiction of the authority for entertaining such application. However, the authority allowed petitioner's claim for overtime on December 31, 1984, June 29. 1985 and December 31, 1985 on the ground that Rajasthan declared holidays for those days under the Act of 1881 and petitioner worked on those days. Therefore, he is entitled to the overtime payment. The petitioner bank has filed the present writ petition challenging this award.
(3.) MR. Parihar, learned Counsel for the petitioner, has submitted that under Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act certain public holidays are declared to save the negotiable instruments from expiry and on those holidays if any negotiable instrument expires, then it will be negotiable on the next preceding day. The explanation clarified that the public holiday includes Sundays and any other holidays declared by the Goverment by notification in the Official Gazette. Section 25 reads as under: "25. When day of maturity is holiday- When the day on which a promissory note or bill of exchange is at maturity is a public holiday, the instrument shall be deemed to be due on the next preceding business day. Explanation:-The expression "public holiday" includes Sundays and any other day declared by the Central Government, by notification in the Official Gazette to be a public holiday" In pursuance of this Ex. 2 was issued by the Governor of Rajasthan and December 31, 1984 was mentioned as a "varshik Bank Khata Bandi". Mr. Parihar, learned Counsel submits that the expression "varshik Bank Khata Bandi"only means that on that day commercial business would not be transacted but the Bank functioned and petitioner attended the office. Learned Counsel submits that this declaration of public holiday on December 31, 1984 does not mean that the banks were closed and there were holidays for the employees. In fact it was declared as a holiday under Section 25 of the Act which is an enabling provision for saving the negotiable instruments being expiring and so as to enable them for being exchanged on next preceding business day. The declaration as holiday under Section 25 of December 31, 1984 which was Monday and which was day for annual checking of the accounts would not mean that it was a holiday for the bank employees. I think the submission of Mr. Parihar appears to be justified. On December 31, 1984 and other two days which was closing of the bank account, meaning thereby that on that day there was no commercial transaction and as such it was not a holiday for the employees and when there was no holiday for the employees, petitioner cannot claim overtime for working on those days. Mr. Parihar has also invited my attention to National Industrial Bank Disputes Award on Industrial Disputes between certain banking Companies and Corporations by Justice K. T. Desai wherein it was observed. "june 30 and December 31 when declared as such to be holidays for half yearly and yearly closing accounts shall be deemed to be normal working days for all workmen employees in Bank". Though Desai Award cannot be pressed into service because it was between certain banking Company and Corporation, it does provide a guideline that in the banks, working on such declaration of half yearly and yearly closing accounts has not been treated as holidays so as to enable the employees seeking an overtime. In these circumstances, I think the view taken by the Tribunal is not correct and deserves to be quashed.;