Case: M/s. Bennet Coleman &amp; Co. Ltd Vs. State of Bihar &amp; Others

found due by the Labour Court may be recovered in the manner provided in sub-section(1)" 17. There is also a provision for penalty under Section 18 of the Working Journalists Act, which reads as follows:- "18. Penalty.- (1) If any employer contravenes any of the provisions of this Act or any rule or order made thereunder, he shall be punishable with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees. "(1A) Whoever, having been convicted of any offence under this Act, is again convicted of an offence involving the contravention of the same provision, shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees. (1B) Where an offence has been committed by a company, every person who, at the time the offence was committed, was in charge of, and was responsible to, the company for the conduct of the business of the company, as well as the company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly: Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any such person liable to any punishment provided in this section if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence. (1C) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1B), where an offence under this section has been committed by a company and it is proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or that the commission of the offence is attributable to, any gross negligence on the part of any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company, such director, manager, secretary or other officer shall also be deemed to be guilty of such offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. (1D) For the purposes of this section. - (a) "company" means any body corporate and includes a firm or other association of individuals; and (b) "director" in relation to a firm means a partner in the firm. (2) No court inferior to that of a Presidency Magistrate or a Magistrate of the first class shall try any offence punishable under this section. (3) No court shall take cognizance of an offence under this section, unless the complaint thereof is made within six months of the date on which the offence is alleged to have been committed." 18. Having regard to the scheme of the Working Journalists Act and having regard to the provisions of the I.D. Act, as incorporated by Section 3 of the Working Journalists Act, prosecution for unfair labour practice is maintainable only under Section 25U. Section 25U provides for penalty for committing unfair labour practice and Section 29 provides for penalty for breach of settlement or award. Section 2(ra) of the I.D. Act defines unfair labour practice. Settlement is defined under Section 2(p) to be a settlement arrived at in the course of conciliation proceedings and includes a written agreement between the employer and the workmen otherwise than in the course of conciliation proceedings. The recommendations of the Wage Board is thus neither an award nor a settlement in terms of the provisions under the I.D. Act. It is not passed by the Labour Court or Industrial Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal and it is not an Arbitration Award in terms of Section 10A of the I.D. Act. It is not a settlement in terms of Section 2(b) of the I.D. Act. It is not an agreement between the parties. Its enforceability, being a recommendation, depends on the order passed by the Central Government. The Central Government has passed that order by issuing Annexure P1 notification. If the same is not complied with, as we have already referred to above, the remedies lie under Section 17 for recovery or under Section 18 for penalty and not under the provisions of the I.D. Act. 19. During the course of hearing, we are informed that the Employees Union have already taken recourse to the remedy under Section 17(2) of the Working Journalists Act with regard to the amounts due in terms of the notification issued by the Central Government under Section 12 and the same is pending before the Labour Court, Patna (Case Reference No.7/2013). If the Labour Court passes an appropriate award and in case the same is not implemented then alone there arises a question of prosecution under Section 25U read with Serial No.13 of the Fifth Schedule of the I.D. Act "Failure to implement award, settlement or agreement". 20. Learned counsel for the respondents has also made a submission that in terms of Section 11 of the Working Journalists Act, the Wage Board may exercise all powers of the Industrial Tribunal under I.D. Act to the extent relevant. Section 11(1) reads as follows:- "11. Powers and procedure of the Board.-(1) Subject to the provisions contained in sub-section (2), the Board may exercise all or any of the powers which an Industrial Tribunal constituted under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14 of 1947), exercises for the adjudication of an industrial dispute referred to it and shall, subject to the provisions contained in this Act, and the rules, if any, made thereunder have power to regulate its own procedure. " 21. A bare reading of the provision would show that the same provides for exercise of the powers of the Tribunal by the Wage Board in the process of making its recommendations in regulating its procedure. The provision does not make Wage Board a Tribunal. The Tribunal under the I.D. Act does not make recommendations, it passes award; whereas the Wage Board under the Working Journalists Act is competent only to make a recommendation in terms of Section 10 and after the notification of the recommendations by the Central Government if there is any dispute regarding any amount due under the notification, a dispute is raised under Section 17(2) of the Working Journalists Act and thereafter an award is passed by the Labour Court.

Decision (1 = appeal accepted, 0 = rejected): 1

Explanation:
1[ds]18. Having regard to the scheme of the Working Journalists Act and having regard to the provisions of the I.D. Act, as incorporated by Section 3 of the Working Journalists Act, prosecution for unfair labour practice is maintainable only under Section 25U. Section 25U provides for penalty for committing unfair labour practice and Section 29 provides for penalty for breach of settlement or award. Section 2(ra) of the I.D. Act defines unfair labour practice. Settlement is defined under Section 2(p) to be a settlement arrived at in the course of conciliation proceedings and includes a written agreement between the employer and the workmen otherwise than in the course of conciliation proceedings. The recommendations of the Wage Board is thus neither an award nor a settlement in terms of the provisions under the I.D. Act. It is not passed by the Labour Court or Industrial Tribunal or National Industrial Tribunal and it is not an Arbitration Award in terms of Section 10A of the I.D. Act. It is not a settlement in terms of Section 2(b) of the I.D. Act. It is not an agreement between the parties. Its enforceability, being a recommendation, depends on the order passed by the Central Government. The Central Government has passed that order by issuing Annexure P1 notification. If the same is not complied with, as we have already referred to above, the remedies lie under Section 17 for recovery or under Section 18 for penalty and not under the provisions of the I.D. Act19. During the course of hearing, we are informed that the Employees Union have already taken recourse to the remedy under Section 17(2) of the Working Journalists Act with regard to the amounts due in terms of the notification issued by the Central Government under Section 12 and the same is pending before the Labour Court, Patna (Case Reference No.7/2013). If the Labour Court passes an appropriate award and in case the same is not implemented then alone there arises a question of prosecution under Section 25U read with Serial No.13 of the Fifth Schedule of the I.D. Act "Failure to implement award, settlement or agreement"21. A bare reading of the provision would show that the same provides for exercise of the powers of the Tribunal by the Wage Board in the process of making its recommendations in regulating its procedure. The provision does not make Wage Board a Tribunal. The Tribunal under the I.D. Act does not make recommendations, it passes award; whereas the Wage Board under the Working Journalists Act is competent only to make a recommendation in terms of Section 10 and after the notification of the recommendations by the Central Government if there is any dispute regarding any amount due under the notification, a dispute is raised under Section 17(2) of the Working Journalists Act and thereafter an award is passed by the Labour Court.