Payment of Wages Act, 1936

The Supreme Court examined whether race clubs such as the Bangalore Turf Club and the Royal Western India Turf Club, as well as a chit fund, fall within the definition of "shop" under the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 (ESI Act) and the related notifications. The Court held that a race club is an "establishment" …

The case arose from FIR No. 60/2017 alleging wrongful confinement, trafficking and conspiracy against Ajay Malik for employing a tribal domestic worker. Malik sought quashing of the criminal proceedings and compounding of the offences, supported by a no‑objection affidavit from the complainant, while the State opposed …

The appellants, a workers' union, challenged a complaint filed under the Maharashtra Recognition of Trade Unions and Prevention of Unfair Labour Practices Act, 1971, arguing that the employer‑employee relationship with the principal employer was disputed and should be decided under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. Th…

The employer, Mis. Hamdard (Wakf) Laboratories, terminated 37 workmen alleging an illegal strike, leading to an industrial dispute and an award reinstating 17 workers with 50% back‑wages. The workmen later filed applications under Section 6‑H(l) of the U.P. Industrial Disputes Act seeking bonus, which the Labour Commis…

The Supreme Court examined whether directors of Jiyajirao Cotton Mills Ltd., a company that owned factories, could be held personally liable for unpaid wages under the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 as amended by the Madhya Pradesh Industrial Relations Act, 1960. The Court held that the Act does not incorporate the "occupi…

The Gujarat Transport Department floated a tender for manpower services with conditions that the salary paid must not be less than the minimum wage and that bids must be fixed, not open‑ended. Three bidders qualified; the Technical Evaluation Committee fixed a minimum‑wage figure of Rs 3,00,92,346, rendering the bids o…

The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) fixed the retirement age of its field officers at 58 years, but Anwar Khan (deceased) sued for a declaration that the applicable agreement made the retirement age 60 years; the suit was decreed in his favour while a second appeal was pending. During the pendency, Khan filed…

The Supreme Court examined a challenge by the Balmer Lawrie Workers Union (a non‑recognised union) to the constitutional validity of Section 20(2)(b) of the Maharashtra Recognition of Trade Unions and Prevention of Unfair Labour Practices Act, 1971 and to Clause 17 of a settlement that required a 15 % deduction from ar…

Cipla Ltd employed cleaning staff through a contractor and routinely terminated them after eleven months to avoid granting permanent status. The Maharashtra General Kamgar Union filed a complaint under Section 28 of the Maharashtra Recognition of Trade Unions & Prevention of Unfair Labour Practices Act, alleging unfair…

Krishan Prasad Gupta, an employee, filed a claim under Section 15 of the Payment of Wages Act seeking recovery of unauthorized wage deductions. The Authority passed an ex‑parte order and the respondent appealed under Section 17 before the District Judge. While the appeal was pending, the Central Administrative Tribunal…

The appellants, supervisory employees of the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd., claimed double overtime allowance under Section 59(1) of the Factories Act, 1948 for work performed between 1988 and 2005. Their claim arose while they were central government servants holding civil posts, and therefor…

The BHEL Workers' Association and other petitioners alleged that about a thousand contract labourers in the BHEL plant at Hardwar were paid lower wages and denied the same conditions of service as directly employed workers, seeking a declaration under Article 32 that the contract labour system was illegal and that they…

The Supreme Court examined the meaning of "unprotected worker" under Section 2(11) of the Maharashtra Mathadi, Hamal and other Manual Workers (Regulation of Employment and Welfare) Act, 1969. The petitioners argued that the term should be limited to casual workers not covered by other labour statutes, relying on earlie…

The petition, filed by a social welfare organisation, alleged that thousands of migrant workers in stone quarries and crushers in Faridabad were subjected to inhuman conditions, forced labour and bondage, violating their fundamental rights under Articles 21 and 23 of the Constitution. The Court treated the letter addre…

Sundar Dass, a former railway clerk, was suspended on 17 February 1949 after it was discovered that he had concealed a prior discharge from railway service in 1944. He was dismissed on 14 May 1949, but the Rajasthan High Court later set aside that dismissal on grounds of natural justice, directing fresh disciplinary pr…

The employer, M/s. Creative Garments Ltd., appealed against a Labour Court award that reinstated employee Kashiram Verma with back wages. The employee never reported for duty despite multiple communications, and his permanent address was never furnished; only a "care of Union" address was provided. The Supreme Court fo…

Modi Industries Ltd. (the appellant) operated a manufacturing unit where a dispute between management and trade unions led to a halt in production from 21 December 1990 to 3 March 1991. The company refused to pay wages for this period, prompting the Additional Labour Commissioner to issue a notice under Section 3 of th…

The State of Maharashtra appointed Justice B. Lentin as a one‑man Commission of Inquiry to investigate the death of 14 patients at J.J. Hospital. The Commission found the appellant, Dr. Baliram Waman Hiray, gave contradictory evidence and issued a show‑cause notice for perjury under s.193 IPC read with s.340 CrPC, dire…

The Supreme Court examined challenges by private employers, including Ficus Pax Private Ltd., to central and state orders issued under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 that compelled private establishments to pay full wages to all workers during the COVID‑19 lockdown. The petitioners argued that the orders were ultra‑…

The appellant, an assistant manager, was terminated by the respondent employer alleging absenteeism, after a show‑cause notice and disciplinary inquiry. The appellant filed a petition under Section 15(2) of the Payment of Wages Act for unpaid wages and later approached the Industrial Tribunal under Section 2(A) of the …

Sh. Punnilal filed a civil suit seeking promotion from shunter to Driver 'C' and obtained a decree in 1984, which was confirmed and led to his promotion in 1986. He then applied under Section 15 of the Payment of Wages Act for back‑wages, and the prescribed authority ordered payment of Rs. 30,220. The Union of India ap…

The Hotel and Restaurant Karamchari Sangh filed a complaint under the Uttar Pradesh Industrial Peace (Timely Payment of Wages) Act, 1978 seeking recovery of wages exceeding Rs 60,000 from Gulmarg Hotel. The employer later paid part of the amount, reducing the outstanding sum to below Rs 50,000 and argued that the Labou…

The case concerned 2,040 contract labourers employed in SAIL's captive limestone mine who, after a 1993 prohibition on contract labour under the CLRA Act, continued to work and claimed parity of wages with regular SAIL employees under the NJCS memorandum. The respondents sought relief under Section 20(1) of the Minimum…

The Supreme Court considered two appeals involving Bank of India and a private company concerning wage deductions during industrial actions. In the first appeal, employees participated in a four‑hour strike covering crucial banking hours; the Bank had issued a circular stating that participants would forfeit the full d…

The appellant family filed a claim for compensation after their 26‑year‑old son, a truck driver, died in an accident that occurred while he was attempting to stop an unmanned vehicle during the course of his employment. The Employees' Compensation Commissioner awarded Rs 10,75,253 with interest, but the High Court redu…

Hindustan Steelworks Construction Ltd., a government company registered as a principal employer under the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, engaged M/s Investigation and Security Services India Pvt. Ltd. as a licensed contractor to supply security staff. The contractor paid the workers lower wages t…

Sukhdarshan Singh, a clerk in the Punjab State Transport Department, was suspended in 1986 following an FIR and later removed from service in 2003 after a criminal conviction under Sections 324 and 506 of the IPC. The appellate authority set aside the termination but ordered that he receive no salary for the suspension…

Manganese Ore (India) Ltd. paid its mine workers a cash wage, an attendance bonus and supplied grain at concessional rates. The workers claimed that the cash value of the grain concession and the attendance bonus were being deducted from their statutory minimum wages fixed by a government notification, and filed applic…