Madhya Pradesh High Court
Ramswaroop Parmar vs Chief Executive Officer on 31 January, 2022
Author: Vishal Dhagat
Bench: Vishal Dhagat
HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH PRINCIPAL SEAT AT JABALPUR
WRIT PETITION NO. 9531 OF 2017
Parties Name Ramswaroop Parmar
VS.
Chief Executive Officer & others
Bench Constituted Single Bench
Judgment delivered by HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE VISHAL DHAGAT, J.
Whether approved for Yes/No reporting Name of counsel for For Petitioner: Shri K.C. Ghildiyal, Advocate. parties For Respondents No.1: Shri Akash Choudhary, Advocate.
For Respondent No.2: Shri Satyam Agrawal,
Advocate.
For Respondent/State: Shri V.S. Choudhary, Panel Lawyer.
Law laid down -
Significant paragraph -
number
(O R D E R)
31/01/2022
Petitioner has filed I.A. No.7516/2019 before this Court and prayer is made to dispose of this writ petition in terms of order dated 17.06.2019 passed by Indore Bench in M.P. No.4116/2018.
2. Petitioner in this petition has challenged order dated 19.06.2017 contained in Annexure-P/8. By impugned order, Authority under Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and Assistant Labour Commissioner, Bhopal Division, Bhopal has dismissed the application filed under Section 20 (1) of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 in respect of payment of over time wages. Petitioner is employee of 108 Ambulance services. 2 WP No.9531/2017 Management had raised an objection regarding maintainability of application under Section 20(1) of Minimum Wages Act, 1948 on the ground that High Court has passed judgment in case of Gurusharan Singh Brijbhusan Singh Vs. Manager, Rewa Transport Services and others, reported in AIR 1968 MP10. In said judgment, High Court held that there is complete prohibition under Section 13 of the Motor Transport Workers Act from employing any worker for hours in excess of the hours prescribed under Section 13. Any overtime work done in excess of the hours prescribed under Section 13 shall be work done in violation of the Act and a claim based on such violation cannot be sustained under the Minimum Wages Act or the payment of Wages Act. Placing reliance on said judgment, authority dismissed the claim of petitioner.
3. Counsel appearing for petitioner submitted that Indore Bench in case of Ziqitza Health Care Limited Vs. Assistant Labour Commissioner and others vide order dated 17.06.2019 passed in M.P. No.4116/2018, remanded the case back to competent authority to decide all application afresh under provisions of Minimum Wages Act, 1948. In view of aforesaid order, impugned order may be set aside and matter may be remanded back to the authority under Minimum Wages Act, 1948 for consideration of application filed by petitioner under Section 20(1) of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.
3 WP No.9531/2017
4. Counsel appearing for respondents made a prayer for dismissal of writ petition as well as aforesaid I.A. filed by the petitioner. It is submitted that Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961 is applicable in the case. Sections 13, 15 and 16 of the Act of 1961 provides that no transport workers shall be allowed to work for more than eight hours in a day. In view of prohibition and bar created under the Act of 1961, no worker shall be allowed to perform duty beyond period of eight hours in a day. He further relied on Section 15 of the Act of 1961 which provides for daily intervals for rest. As per said section, adult motor transport workers on each day shall be so fixed that no period of work shall exceed five hours and after completing five hours of work, he may be given rest for at least half-an-hour. Further he relied on Section 16 of the Act of 1961 and submitted that hours of work be so arranged that inclusive of interval of rest that shall not spread-over more than twelve hours in one day. As per Section 15 and 16, hours of work of an employee taking into consideration the intervals of rest may be spread- over for twelve hours in a day. Since Motor Transport Workers Act is applicable, therefore, employees working in Ambulances will be governed by the said Act. Section 38 of the Act of 1961 provides for exemption of application of Act in relation to transport vehicle used for transportation of sick or injured persons. It is submitted that Section 38 of Act of 1961 would have no application as answering respondent is registered as a Motor Transport Undertaking and it does not exempt 4 WP No.9531/2017 such undertaking but only exempts transport vehicles. Further it is submitted that application for over time is not maintainable as Minimum Wages Act, 1948 has no application. In this case, Schedule appended to 1948 Act does not cover employment in Ambulatory Services. Ambulatory Services is not scheduled employment under the Act of 1948 and that being so, application under Section 20 was not maintainable.
5. Heard the counsel appearing for petitioner as well as respondents.
6. Issue raised by petitioner and respondents in this case is squarely covered by order dated 17.06.2019 passed in M.P. No.4116/2018. In said case, Co-ordinate Bench of this Court has held that Minimum Wages Act, 1948 will be applicable in case of Ambulatory Services. Activities of petitioners who are drivers and workers of 108 Ambulance services are engaged in transportation of sick or injured persons and business activities of petitioner would fall under Sl. No.11 of Part-I of Schedule to the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. It was also held that not only drivers but technicians and helpers employed in Ambulances are also entitled to the benefit of Minimum Wages Act, 1948. It is further held that petitioner in this case is registered under Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961 or not is immaterial. The nature of employment of respondent No.2 has to be seen to decide the applicability of Minimum Wages Act, 1948. Since respondent No.2 is 5 WP No.9531/2017 engaged to drive the ambulance and other technicians are engaged in the same ambulance, therefore, it can safely be held that they are employed in a public service vehicle i.e. employment in public motor transport, which is a scheduled employment, hence Minimum Wages Act, 1948 is applicable to the petitioner. Order dated 17.06.2019 passed in M.P. No.4116/2018 covers the case of petitioner. In Section 38 of Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961 exemptions are provided. Said section lays down that this Act will be applicable to in relation to transport vehicle used for transporting sick or injured persons.
7. In view of aforesaid facts and circumstances of the case, I.A. No.7516/2019 is allowed and order dated 19.06.2017 is quashed and matter is remanded back to Court of Authority under Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and Assistant Labour Commissioner, Bhopal Division, Bhopal to consider application of petitioner filed under Section 20(1) of Minimum Wages Act, 1948 on its merits.
8. With the aforesaid direction, writ petition is disposed of.
9. Certified copy as per rules.
(VISHAL DHAGAT) JUDGE sp/-
SUNIL Digitally signed by SUNIL KUMAR PATEL DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH, ou=HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH, postalCode=482001, st=Madhya Pradesh, KUMAR 2.5.4.20=3ad456309c8cfa67fdf9acdac6949bbc6ea3 342f02b1af1bdaf3424a04c11d99, pseudonym=EB80E81424E3C3A3FCB5801D65B573 419C2D9C68, serialNumber=5011B37A3DD5E32019F501F10E878 PATEL D2F118732491B5F40BDC9923237D954365B, cn=SUNIL KUMAR PATEL Date: 2022.02.01 17:23:24 +05'30'