Civil Appeals No 127 130 of 1975
Appeal by Special leave from the Judgment and order dated 15th October 1974 of the Gujarat High Court in Civil Revision Appln
1434 1437 of 1973
VM Tarkunde
Naresh Kumar Sharma and Vineet Kumar for the Appellant
DV Patel CV Subba Rao Dy
Advocate MN Shroff GN Desal RN Poddar and RH Dhebar for the Respondent State
PH Parekh for Respondents 1 and 2
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by VARADARAJAN J
These appeals by special leave are directed against the judgment of the learned Chief Justice BJ Diwan of the Gujarat High Court in Civil Revision Application Nos 1434 to 1437 of 1973
Those Civil Revision Applications hereinafter referred to as Revisions  were preferred against the judgment of the Civil Judge Junior Division Vijapur as the authority appointed under section 20i of the for Vijapur Taluka in Civil Misc
Applications Nos 1 and 2 of 1970 and 1 and 2 of 1971 hereinafter referred to as applications 
The four Revisions raised a common question of law and were disposed of by a common judgment
The applications before the Minimum Wages Authority were filed by the Gujarat Government Labour officer and Minimum Wages Inspector for Mehsana district against the Taluka Development officer Vijapur Taluka and District Development officer Panchayat Mehsana
The Minimum Wages Inspector contended in those applications that the four employees Ishwerbhai 324 Prahladbhai Dayabhai Umeddass Kanjibhai Shankarbhai and Nathalal Maganlal working in the Taluka Panchayat and District Panchayat as Tube well operators at Delva da and Vihar villages fall within the hereinafter referred to as the Act  and had been made to work for more hours than what is prescribed under the Act and they were entitled to over time wages of Rs 301840 and Rs 376905 in respect of Ishwerbhai Prahladbhai and Dayabhai Umeddass respectively for the period from September 1969 to February 1970 and Rs 3082 for the period from October 1970 to March 1971 and Rs 117825 for the transitional period of April and May 1971 in respect of Kanjibhai Shankarbhai and Rs 396240 and Rs 123780 for those identical periods in respect of Nathalal Maganlal
Directions under section 20 of Act for payment of those amounts together with further sums for the period during which the applications were pending were prayed for in the applications
The respondents in the applications denied that the four employees are working under any District Panchayat and contended that they were work charged employees in the State service and that on the introduction of Panchayat Raj in the State of Gujarat with effect from 141963 as per the Gujarat Panchayats Act 1961 the maintenance of tube wells and further extension of tube wells and their maintenance and the work charged establishment relating to the tube wells were transferred to the District Panchayats by Government s Circular No MNS41162V dated 2731963 and the employees were continued as work charged employees by the District Panchayat and were transferred to and continued as such in the Panchayats
The respondents in the applications thus contended that the four employees concerned were employees of the State of Gujarat whose terms and conditions of employment are subject to orders of the State Government and that they are paid out of the IOO per cent grant made by the State Government
The respondents in the applications further contended that the terms and conditions of service of the work charged employees of the State Government are governed by the PWD Manual and that the four employees concerned are not entitled to the over time wages claimed in the applications
The Minimum Wages Authority found on the evidence adduced by the parties that the Tube well operators concerned were State Government servants and not the servants of the Panchayats that Panchayats exercised supervisory control over them and that it was not controverted by the applicant before him 325 that the Tube well operators were employed by the State Government before 141963
Following the decision in GL Shukla vs State of Gujaratl the found that Panchayat service is like any other branch of service service under the State and he held that though employment in any District Panchayat or Taluka Panchayat is scheduled employment as per section 2g of the Act the Tube well operators concerned being Government servants in Panchayat service are not entitled to claim minimum wages under the Act
In that view he dismissed the applications
The Minimum Wages Inspector took the matter in revision before the High Court
Diwan C J who heard these Revisions followed the decision of the Full Bench of the Gujarat High Court in Criminal Appeal No 361 of 1972 disposed of on 251974 in which the ratio of the decision in Shukla s case was approved and held that Panchayat service was part of the service of the State and the Tube well operators concerned are State Government servants holding civil posts
In that view the learned Chief Justice agreed with the Minimum Wages Authority that as State Government servants the Tube well operators concerned are not entitled to the benefit of the Act and he dismissed the Revisions
The point arising for consideration in these civil appeals is simple
The Minimum Wages Authority and the learned Chief Justice have found that the Tube well operators are Gujarat State Government servants
That is the contention of the contesting respondents I and 2 viz Taluka Development officer Vijapur Taluka Panchayat and District Development officer Mehsana District Panchayat in these appeals
The contention of the State of Gujarat before us in Civil Appeal No 359 of 1974 was that the employees in the District Panchayats and Taluka Panchayats constituted under the Gujarat Panchayat Act 1961 and Talatis and Kotwals working in Gram and Nagar Panchayats in the local cadre of Panchayats constituted under that Act are Government servants and that the other employees in the local cadre are Panchayat employees and not State Government employees
I n that appeal we have repelled the contention that employees of the local cadre namely Gram and Nagar Panchayat servants barring Talatis and Kotwals are Panchayat servants and not Government servants and held that they also are State Government servants like the District H 326 Panchayat and Taluka Panchayat employees and Talatis and Kotwals working in the Gram and Nagar Panchayats
Section 3 of the provides for the appropriate government in the manner provided in
the Act fixing minimum rates of wages payable to employees employed in an employment specified in Part I and Part II of the Schedule and in any other employment added to either Part by notification under s27 of the Aet subject to the proviso to section 31 a and has power to review at such intervals as it thinks fit such intervals not exceeding S years the minimum rates of wages so fixed and revise the minimum rates if necessary subject to the proviso to clause b of sub section I of section 3
Section 2i of the Act defines employee as meaning any person who is employed for hire or reward to do any work skilled or unskilled manual or clerical in a scheduled employment in respect of which minimum rates of wages have been fixed and includes an out worker  Employer is defined in section 2 e of the Act as any person who employs whether directly or through another person or whether on behalf of himself or any other person one or more employees in any scheduled employment in respect of which minimum wages have been fixed under the Act and includes except in sub section 3 of section 26
i  ii    iii in any scheduled employment under any local authority in respect of which minimum rates of wages have been fixed under the Act the person appointed by such authority for the supervision and control of the employees or where no employee is so appointed the Chief Executive officer of the local authority and iv in any other case where there is carried on any scheduled employment in respect of which minimum rates of wages have been fixed under the Act any person responsible to the owner for the supervision and control of the employees or for the payment of wages  
We are not concerned in these appeals with section 26 3 of the Act
Section 2 g defines scheduled employment as meaning an employment specified in the Schedule or any process or branch of work forming part of such employment
Employment under any local authority is item 6 in the Schedule of the Act
Therefore there can be no doubt that the Tube well operators concerned in these appeals are in scheduled employment under the Panchayats
The question is whether being Government servants employed under the local authority they are not entitled to minimum wages and other benefits under the Act
Employer under the Act being any person who employs whether directly or through another 327 person or whether on behalf of himself or any other person one or A more employees in any scheduled employment in respect of which minimum wages have been fixed under the Act the Panchayat or Panchayats under which the Tube well operators concerned are employed in scheduled employment would be employers under the Act even though they are Government servants for under section 102 2 of the Gujarat Panchayat Act 1961 a Secretary of a Gram Panchayat or Nagar Panchayat shall subject to the control of the Sarpanch or Chairman as the case may be perform certain duties mentioned in clauses a b c and d to that sub section and under sub section 3 of that section the other servants of the panchayats shall perform such functions and duties and exercise such powers under the Act as may be imposed or conferred on them by the Panchayat subject to rules if any made in this behalf
We are therefore of the opinion that the Tube well operators concerned in these appeals even thought State Government servants are employed in scheduled employment under the local authority or authorities and are consequently entitled to minimum wages and other benefits under the Act it not being disputed that minimum wages have been fixed by the State Government in respect of Tube well operators generally though that benefit has not been extended to the Tube well operators concerned in these appeals
The appeals are accordingly allowed with costs
The applications before the Minimum Wages Authority are allowed as prayed for and the directions shall be issued as prayed for
HLC Appeals allowed


Summary:
The Minimum Wages Inspector of Mehsana District in Gujarat filed applications before the Minimum Wages Authority praying for directions for payment of overtime wages to four tubewell operators working in Taluka and District Panchayats on the ground that they had been made to work for more hours than what was prescribed under the 
The said Authority dismissed the applications holding that though employment in any District Panchayat or Taluka Panchayat was scheduled employment  as per section 2 g of the Act the tubewell operators concerned being Government servants in Panchayat Service were not entitled to claim minimum wages under the Act
The revisions filed against the orders of the Authority were dismissed by tho High Court
Allowing tho appeals  HELD Section 3 of the Act provides for the appropriate government fixing minimum rates of wages payable to employees employed in an employment specified in and of the Schedule
Section 2 i defines employee  as meaning any person who is employed for hire or reward to do any work in a scheduled employment 
Section 2g defines Scheduled employment  as meaning an employment specified in the Schedule and Employment under any local authority is included as item 6 of tho schedule
326 B G Employer  under section 2 e being any person who employs whether directly or through another person or whether on behalf of himself or any other person one or more employees in any scheduled employment in respect of which minimum wages have been fixed under the Act the Panchayats under which the tubewell operators concerned are employed in scheduled employment would be employers  under the Act even though the tubewell operators are Government servants for under sub section
2 of section 102 of the Gujarat Panchayat Act 1961 a Secretary of a Gram Panchayat or Nagar Panchayat shall subject to the control of the Sarpanch or Chairman as the case may be perform the duties mentioned in cls
a b c and d thereof and 323 under sub section
3 of that section the other servants of the Panchayats shall perform such functions and duties and exercise such powers under the Act as may be imposed or conferred on them by the Panchayat subject to rules if any made in that behalf
Therefore there can be no doubt that the tubewell operators concerned in these appeals even though State Government servants are employed in scheduled employment  under the local authority or authorities and are consequently entitled to minimum wages and other benefits under the Act326 H 327 A D