RAJESH ADANI Vs. ASSISTANT LABOUR COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners have sought the quashing of entire proceedings in C.C. No. 884/2008 on the file of J.M.F.C II Court, Hubli. The facts of the case in brief are that Adani Enterprises Ltd. is a Private Limited Company, registered under the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956. The petitioner No. 1 is its Managing Director and petitioner No. 2 is its Manager-Administration and Human Relations. The Assistant Labour Commissioner, Dharwad Division, Hubli (A.L.C for short) filed a complaint with the Magistrate against the petitioners for the offences punishable under Section 18 of Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and 29-b, 29(5) of Karnataka Minimum Wages Rules, 1958. The sum and substance of the complaint is that the attendance, overtime and wage registers are not produced at the time of investigation. The annual reports for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 are not displayed. Despite the receipt of notice on the petitioners, they did not comply with the requirements of law. The Magistrate, by his order, dated 17.7.2008 took the cognizance of the offence against the petitioners and issued the summons. This order was challenged by way of revision before the I Addl. Sessions Judge, Hubli in Crl.R.P. No. 18/2009. The Sessions Judge, by his order dated 15.12.2009 dismissed the said petition.

(2.) Sri Ravi Naik, the Learned Senior Counsel appearing for Sri Murthy D. Naik for the petitioners submits that the complaint filed with the Magistrate is in respect of the Company's Branch Office in Ankola Thaluk. However, the complaint is filed with the Magistrate's Court in Hubli. He submits, with reference to the Section 177 of Cr.P.C., that every offence shall ordinarily be enquired into and tried by a Court within whose local jurisdiction it was committed. As the offence was allegedly committed in Ankola Thaluk, the complaint ought not to have been filed in Hubli, so contends Sri Naik.

(3.) The Learned Senior Counsel has also relied on this Court's decision in the case of N.R. Narayana Murthy v. Kannada Rakshana Vakeelara Vedike, 2007 ILR(Kar) 3589 The relevant paragraph in the said judgment is extracted hereinbelow: