Writ Petition No. 28018 of 2024 · The High Court
Case Details
- 1 - NC: 2025:KHC:11886 WP No. 28018 of 2024 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 21ST DAY OF MARCH, 2025 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE B M SHYAM PRASAD WRIT PETITION NO. 28018 OF 2024 (L-RES) BETWEEN: NATIONAL INSITITUTE OF ROCK MECHANICS (NIRM) OUTER RING ROAD, ESHWAR NAGAR, BANASHANKARI, 2ND STAGE, BENGALURU HAVING ITS REGISTERED OFFICE AT CHAMPION REEFS, KOLAR GOLD FIELDS, KOLAR, KARNATAKA 563 117. REPRESENTED BY ITS AUTHORISED REPRESENTATIVE SHRI JOTHIAPPA N REGISTERED UNDER CO OPERATIVE SOCIETIES ACT 1960 …PETITIONER (BY SRI. M.R.C. RAVI., SENIOR ADVOCATE OF SRI. RAGHU PRASAD B.S., ADVOCATE) AND: 1. THE AUTHORITY UNDER THE MINIMUM WAGES ACT, 1948 AND REGIONAL BANGALORE LABOUR COMMISSIONER (CENTRAL), "SHRAM SADAN", III CROSS, III MAIN, YESHWANTHPUR INDUSTRIA SUBURB, II STAGE, TUMKUR ROAD, BANGALORE - 560 022. Digitally signed by VANAMALA N Location: High Court of Karnataka - 2 - NC: 2025:KHC:11886 WP No. 28018 of 2024 2. SHRI B.S. RAMESH BABU S/O SHRI SAM, NO.24, SUVARNA BHAVAN COMPOUND, OORGAUM POST, KOLAR GOLD FIELDS 563 120. 3. SMT SUSHEELAMMA
Legal Reasoning
W/O SHRI VENKATAMANI, DODAULAGAMATH, OORGAUM POST, KOLAR GOLD FIELDS 563 120. 4. SHRI F. ANTHONY ALANKAR S/O SHRI D. FRANCIS, NO.10, OORGAUM POST, KOLAR GOLD FIELDS 563 120. 5. SMT VANAJA W/O LATE SHRI Y. MESHAK, NO.34, ANDRA BLOCK, MARIKUPPAM POST, KOLAR GOLD FIELDS 563 119. 6. SHRI LAKSHMAIAH S/O SHRI CHINNA DANIEL, NO.120, BAND LANE, OORGAUM POST, KOLAR GOLD FIELDS - 563 120. (BY SMT. MAITREYI KRISHNAN, ADVOCATE FOR R2 TO R6; SRI. VINAY V., CGC FOR R1) …RESPONDENTS THIS WP IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 & 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO SET ASIDE OR STRIKE DOWN AS NULL AND VOID THE IMPUGNED ORDER DATED 12.08.2024 PASSED BY R-1 IN CLAIM APPLICATION NO. 47(4)2024-B2 (ANNEXURE- FA); DIRECT DECLARING THAT THE KARNATAKA STATE MINIMUM WAGES NOTIFICATION NO. KAE 82 LMW 2015 - 3 - NC: 2025:KHC:11886 WP No. 28018 of 2024 AND 04.08.2016 (ANNEXURE-B) THE DATED SUBSEQUENT NOTIFICATION NO. KAE 105 LWA 2021 DATED 28.07.2022 BOTH APPLICATION TO PRIVATE SAFAI KARMACHARIS ENGAGED IN CLEANING WORK USING MACHINE ONLY IS NOT APPLICABLE TO THE PETITIONER INSTITUTION; GRANT AN EX-PARTE AD-INTERIM ORDER TO PENDING THE HEARING AND FINAL DISPOSAL OF THE PRESENT PETITION, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE IMPUGNED ORDER DATED 12.08.2024 PASSED BY R-1 IN CLAIM APPLICATION NO. 47(4) THE (ANNEXURE-A) PETITIONER. THE OPERATION (ANNEXURE-B1) AGAINST 2024-B2 STAY TO THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR PRELIMINARY HEARING IN 'B' GROUP, THIS DAY, ORDER WAS MADE THEREIN AS UNDER: CORAM: HON'BLE MR JUSTICE B M SHYAM PRASAD ORAL ORDER The petitioner, a Central Government Undertaking providing Consultancy Services in Rock Engineering, has called in question the first respondent's order dated 12.08.2024. The first respondent by this order has directed the petitioner to pay difference in minimum wages payable for the period between 01.01.2018 and 31.12.2023 while awarding compensation of a similar amount. 2. Sri. M. R. C. Ravi, the learned Senior counsel for the petitioner, submits that the petitioner - 4 - NC: 2025:KHC:11886 WP No. 28018 of 2024 would confine the grievance in the present petition to the directions to pay compensation but would obey the first respondent's order and pay difference in wages for the period between January 2018 and December 2023, and in fact, the learned Senior counsel submits that his instructions are that the minimum wages as notified by the State Government for Safayi Karamchari even for the period after December 2023 will be paid without room for litigation. 3. On the petitioner's grievance with the first respondent's direction to pay compensation, Sri. M. R. C. Ravi submits that the first respondent has not reasoned why the petitioner must pay compensation while emphasizing that the private respondents have filed their respective applications for difference in the minimum wages for the period between January 2018 and December 2023. - 5 - NC: 2025:KHC:11886 WP No. 28018 of 2024 4. In response, Smt. Maitreyi Krishnan, the learned counsel for the private respondents, submits that the private respondents' claim for difference in the minimum wages even for the period between August 2016 and December 2017 [based on the State Government's Notification dated 04.08.2016] is decided in July 2022 and in terms thereof such difference is paid by the petitioner over the next two months with the assurance that the difference in the minimum wages and the actual minimum wages for the next period will be paid over a period. 5. Smt. Maitreyi Krishnan further submits that these private respondents have bona fide believed such assurance and only when the assurance is belied, they have filed the applications. The learned counsel canvasses that the law contemplates penalty of ten times, but the first respondent has imposed a penalty which is just equivalent to the amount, and as such, any - 6 - NC: 2025:KHC:11886 WP No. 28018 of 2024 deficiency in reasoning why the petitioner must pay the compensation must be considered in the light of these circumstances. 6. This Court must, before adverting to the question that will have to be considered and the reasons and conclusion in the light of such a question, must record certain antecedent circumstances. The private respondents have filed applications in January 2018 relying upon the State Government's Notification dated 04.08.2016 for difference in the minimum wages for the period between August 2016 and December 2017. The petitioner has contested the claim with the first respondent asserting that the State Government's Notification dated 04.08.2016 would not apply to the petitioner which is a Central Government Undertaking and that the State Government's Notification dated 04.08.2016 would apply only to those Safai Karmacharis who use only machines. - 7 - NC: 2025:KHC:11886 WP No. 28018 of 2024 7. However, the first respondent has opined that the petitioner would be bound by the State Government's Notification because of the terms of the Central Government's Notification dated 19.01.2017. The Central Government Notification in its material part reads that where the minimum wages fixed by the Central Government are lower than the minimum wages fixed by the State Government concerned, the rate of minimum wages fixed by the State Government shall be deemed to be the minimum rate of wages. The first respondent has reiterated this position even in the order impugned in this petition. 8. The other reason upon which the petitioner asserted that the State Government's Notification would not apply is based on its reading of the Notification to assert that it would apply only to those Safai Karmacharis who use machines and not to others. However, the first respondent has offered certain reasons as to why the State Government's - 8 - NC: 2025:KHC:11886 WP No. 28018 of 2024 Notifications must apply to these private respondents who work as Safai Karmacharis in the petitioner's housekeeping section. Crucially, it is now not contested that the Notification dated 04.08.2016 will not exclude the Safai Karmacharis who do not use machines. 9. This brings about a closure to both the grounds urged in the two rounds of litigation with the first respondent. As such, the question for consideration is: Whether this Court must interfere with the first respondent's
Decision
Order directing compensation to the private respondents in a sum equal to difference in the minimum wages. 10. The private respondents, admittedly, have filed their applications in January 2024 for the period beginning from January 2018 and they have explained the delay. The merits of that explanation - 9 - NC: 2025:KHC:11886 WP No. 28018 of 2024 need not be examined if they can be reasonably comp with the petitioner paying the difference in the minimum wages for the period between January 2018 and December 2023 with reasonable interest and the minimum wages in terms of the applicable State Government's Notification for the Safai Karmacharis for the further period without driving these respondents to further litigation. 11. When so considered, this Court must interfere with the first respondent's Order on payment of compensation of the difference in the minimum wages directing the petitioner to pay the difference in the minimum wages for the period upto 31.12.2023 with interest @ 6% per annum clarifying that this interest shall be computed from the end of the year in which the rate becomes payable and that for the period from January 2024 no interest shall be payable provided it is paid within a reasonable time. In the light of the afore, the following: NC: 2025:KHC:11886 WP No. 28018 of 2024 - 10 - ORDER The petition is allowed in part quashing the first respondent's direction dated 12.08.2024 [Annexure-A] to pay compensation to the private respondents, but on the following conditions: [i] the petitioner shall pay the difference in the minimum wages for the period between January 2018 and December 2023 along with interest @ 6% per annum computed from the end of the year in which it becomes payable; [ii] the petitioner shall pay the difference in the minimum wages for the period between January 2018 and December 2024 within four [4] weeks; - 11 - NC: 2025:KHC:11886 WP No. 28018 of 2024 [iii] the petitioner shall continue to pay the minimum wages at the rate as notified by the State Government for private Safai Karmacharis without driving them to litigation subject to the condition that the petitioner shall pay much higher if so notified by the Central Government; [iv] the amount deposited by the petitioner in compliance with the interim order of this Court is directed to be refunded to the petitioner. SD/- (B M SHYAM PRASAD) JUDGE RB, AN/-