15Claims arising out of deductions from wages or delay in payment of wages and penalty for malicious or vexatious claims

¹(1) The appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint--

(a) any Commissioner for Workmen's Compensation; or

(b) any officer of the Central Government exercising functions as,

(i) Regional Labour Commissioner; or

(ii) Assistant Labour Commissioner with at least two years experience; or

(c) any officer of the State Government not below the rank of Assistant Labour Commissioner with at least two years experience; or

(d) a presiding officer of any Labour Court or Industrial Tribunal, constituted under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14 of 1947) or under any corresponding law relating to the investigation and settlement of industrial disputes in force in the State; or

(e) any other officer with experience as a Judge of a Civil Court or a Judicial Magistrate,

as the authority to hear and decide for any specified area all claims arising out of deductions from the wages, or delay in payment of the wages, of persons employed or paid in that area, including all matters incidental to such claims:

Provided that where the appropriate Government considers it necessary so to do, it may appoint more than one authority for any specified area and may, by general or special order, provide for the distribution or allocation of work to be performed by them under this Act.]

(2) Where contrary to the provisions of this Act any deduction has been made from the wages of an employed person, or any payment of wages has been delayed, such person himself, or any legal practitioner or any official of a registered trade union authorised in writing to act on his behalf, or any Inspector under this Act, or any other person acting with the permission of the authority appointed under sub-section (1), may apply to such authority for a direction under sub-section (3):

Provided that every such application shall be presented within ²[twelve months] from the date on which the deduction from the wages was made or from the date on which the payment of the wages was due to be made, as the case may be:

Provided further that any application may be admitted after the said period of ²[twelve months] when the applicant satisfies the authority that he had sufficient cause for not making the application within such period.

³[(3) When any application under sub-section (2) is entertained, the authority shall hear the applicant and the employer or other person responsible for the payment of wages under section 3, or give them an opportunity of being heard, and, after such further enquiry, if any, as may be necessary, may, without prejudice to any other penalty to which such employer or other person is liable under this Act, direct the refund to the employed person of the amount deducted, or the payment of the delayed wages, together with the payment of such compensation as the authority may think fit, not exceeding ten times the amount deducted in the former case and not exceeding three thousand rupees but not less than one thousand five hundred rupees in the latter, and even if the amount deducted or delayed wages are paid before the disposal of the application, direct the payment of such compensation, as the authority may think fit, not exceeding two thousand rupees:

Provided that a claim under this Act shall be disposed of as far as practicable within a period of three months from the date of registration of the claim by the authority:

Provided further that the period of three months may be extended if both parties to the dispute agree for any bona fide reason to be recorded by the authority that the said period of three months may be extended to such period as may be necessary to dispose of the application in a just manner:

Provided also that no direction for the payment of compensation shall be made in the case of delayed wages if the authority is satisfied that the delay was due to--

(a) a bona fide error or bona fide dispute as to the amount payable to the employed person; or

(b) the occurrence of an emergency, or the existence of exceptional circumstances, the person responsible for the payment of the wages was unable, in spite of exercising reasonable diligence; or

(c) the failure of the employed person to apply for or accept payment.]

⁴[(4) If the authority hearing an application under this section is satisfied--

(a) that the application was either malicious or vexatious, the authority may direct that a penalty ⁵[not exceeding three hundred seventy-five rupees] be paid to the employer or other person responsible for the payment of wages by the person presenting the application; or

(b) that in any case in which compensation is directed to be paid under sub-section (3), the applicant ought not to have been compelled to seek redress under this section, the authority may direct that a penalty ⁵[not exceeding three hundred seventy-five rupees] be paid to ⁶[appropriate Government] by the employer or other person responsible for the payment of wages.

(4A) Where there is any dispute as to the person or persons being the legal representative or representatives of the employer or of the employed person, the decision of the authority on such dispute shall be final.

(4B) Any inquiry under this section shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of sections 193, 219 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).]

(5) Any Amount directed to be paid under this section may be recovered--

(a) if the authority is a Magistrate, by the authority as if it were a fine imposed by him as Magistrate, and

(b) if the authority is not a Magistrate, by the Magistrate to whom the authority makes application in this behalf, as if it were a fine imposed by such Magistrate.

STATE AMENDMENT

Karnataka

Amendment of section 15.--In section 15 of the principal Act.--

(1) in sub-section (2), after the word, brackets and figure sub-section (3), the following shall be inserted, namely:--

"and in case of death of the employed person, it shall be lawful for his legal representatives to make and application for such direction";

(2) for sub-section (5), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:--

"(5) Any amount directed to be paid under this section may be recovered by the authority as an arrear of land revenue and the authority shall for that purpose be deemed to be a public officer within the meaning of section 5 of the Revenue Recovery Act, 1890.

[Vide Karnataka Act 2 of 1977, s. 5].

Insertion of new section 15A.--After section 15 of the Principal Act, the following section shall be inserted, namely:--

"15A. Liability for payment of court fees.--(1) In any proceedings under section 15, the applicant shall not be liable to pay any court fees (other than fees payable for the service of process) in respect of such proceedings:

Provided that when the application is presented by an Inspector he shall not be liable to pay the process fees also.

(2) Where the applicant succeeds in such proceedings, the authority hearing the application shall calculate the amount of court fees which would have been payable by the applicant but for sub-section (1) and direct the employer or other person responsible for the payment of wages under section 3 to pay such amount to the State Government. Such amount shall, without prejudice to any other mode of recovery be recoverable as an arrear of land revenue.

(3) When an appeal is preferred under section 17 by a person making an application under section 15, the provisions of sub-sections (1) and (2) shall mutatis mutandis apply with the modification that such person, not being an Inspector, shall pay court fees of an amount of five rupees, but that such amount shall be refunded to him in the event of his succeeding in the appeal.

[Vide Karnataka Act 2 of 1977, s. 6].

STATE AMENDMENT

KARNATAKA

In section 15 for the words "Stipendiary Magistrate" the words "Judicial Magistrate" shall be substituted.

[Vide Karnataka Act 13 of 1965, s. 67 and Schedule]