LexLINGEGOWD DETECTIVE & SECURITY CHAMBER PVT. LIMITED versus MYSORE KIRLOSKAR LIMITED AND ORS.
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A LINGEGOWD DETECTIVE & SECURITY CHAMBER PVT. LIMITED v. MYSORE KIRLOSKAR LIMITED AND ORS. MAY 4, 2006 B [ARIJITPASAYAT ANDTARUN CHATIERJEE, JJ] Minimum Wages Act, 1948--Seclion 27; Schedule-Establishmenl providing workmen lo various organisalions --Authority issuing orders to the establishmenl to pay minimum wages lo ifs workmen by lrealing them as C working in scheduled employment- -Correctness oj~-Held, the services of !he es/ablishment do no/ form par! of the scheduled employment as detailed in the Schedule to the Act-Hence, the establishment is not liable to pay minimum wages- --Contract labour (Regulation and Abolition) Ac/, 1970. D Appellant-company employed workmen for rendering security services to respondent no. 1 - company. The Authority under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 issued orders to the appellant to pay minimum wages to its workmen by treating them as working in scheduled employment under the Act. The appellant filed a Writ Petition before High Court for setting aside the orders of the Authority on the ground that the services of providing workmen by the E appellant to various organizations is not a scheduled employment under the Act; and hence the orders of the Authority are without jurisdiction since no specific Notification was issued under the Act. A single Judge of the High Court allowed the Writ Petition holding that the Act is not applicable to the appellant. The High Court, however, directed respondent no. 1 to pay F Rs. 1,00,000/- as ex-gratia to the workmen being its principal employer. Respondent-Mazdoor Sangh filed writ Appeals before the High Court. A Division Bench of the High Court allowed the Writ Appeals. Hence the appeal by the appellant before this Court. G H Allowing the appeal, the Court HELD: I.I. The appellant has no liability to pay minimum wages. The detective services do not form part of the scheduled employment as detailed in the Schedule to the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. There was no employee- employer relationship so far as the respondent no. I and the workmen are 844 - LINGEGOWD DETECTIVE & SECURITY CHAMBER PVT.LTD.''· MYSORE KIRLOSKAR LTD [PASAYAT,l J 84 5 concerned. The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 has A no relevance in this case. [853-A, B, Cl 1.2. Respondent no. 1, having not challenged the order of the Single Judge, is required to make payment. Since the High Court had held that the appellant was not required to pay the minimum wages as the nature of services rendered by it was not a schedule employment, it does not have joint and several B liability to pay Rs. 1,00,000/- along with respondent no. 1. (853-D, E] Madhya Pradesh Mineral Industry Association v. The Regional Labour Commissioner, Jaba/pur and Ors., [1960[ 3 SCR 475; Mis Bhikusa Yamasa Kahatriya v. Sangamner Ako/a Taluka Bidi Kamgar Union, [1963] 1 Supp. C SCR 524; Haryana Unrecognized Schools Association v. Stale of Haryana, (1996] 4 SCC 225; Patel lshwerbhai Prahladbhai etc. etc. v. The Taluka Development Officer and Ors., AIR (1983) SC 336 and People's Union for Democratic Rights & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors., AIR (1982) SC 1473 referred to. CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 4494 of2000. From the Judgment and Order dated 14.8.1998 of the High Court of Kamataka at Bangalore in W.A. No. 5887 of 1997. D Dayan Krishnan, Gautam Narayan and Nikhil Nayyar for Appellant in E C.A.No. 4494/2000. Rajesh Mahale, S. Manjunath, R.C. Kohli for appellant in C.A.Nos. 4495- 4498/2000 and Respondent in C.A. No. 4494/2000. Sheela Goel and B. Sunita Rao (Both N.P.) for the Respondents. F The Judgment of the Court was delivered by ARIJIT PASAYA T, J. Challenge in this appeal is to the legality of judgment rendered by a Division Bench of the Kamataka High Court in Writ Appeal Nos. 588711997 and 6105-6107 /1997. By the impugned judgment, the G order passed by a learned Single Judge was set aside. Background facts, in a nutshell, are as follows: Aggrieved by the orders passed by the Authority under The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 (in short 'the Act'), the appellant-Lingegowd Detective & H 846 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2006) SUPP. I S.C.R. A Security Chamber (P) Limited (appellant in C.A. No. 4497/2000) (in short 'Lingegowd') filed a writ petition praying for setting aside the orders on the ground that since its establishment of providing security personnel to various organization was not a scheduled employment as detailed in
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