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TMI Blog1963 (7) TMI 54X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mmodation are, it is argued by the official liquidator, deductions authorised by section 7 of the Payment of Wages Act (Central Act IV of 1936) as amended in Mysore by the Payment of Wages (Mysore Amendment) Act of 1952 (Act No. XV of 1952). Sub-section (1) of section 7 of the Payment of Wages Act lays down the general rule that the wages of an employed person shall be paid to him without deduction of any kind except those authorised by or under the Act. Sub-section (2) thereof gives a list of deductions which may be made. Clause ( f ) of sub-section (2) mentions deductions for recovery of advances as one of the deductions authorised by the Act. By the Payment of Wages (Mysore Amendment) Act of 1952 mentioned above, two clauses were added to sub-section (2) of section 7 of the principal Act, one of which is the following: "( m ) deductions specially authorised by the State Government for a purpose beneficial to the employed person." Pursuant to this clause, the Government of Mysore issued an order bearing No. LH/62/LBM/57, dated nth October, 1957, which reads as follows: "Whereas deductions from the wages of employed persons for house accommodation supplied by the employer ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f commission) of any employee, in respect of services rendered to the company and due for a period not exceeding four months within the twelve months next before the relevant date and any compensation payable to any workman under any of the provisions of Chapter VA of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14 of 1947), subject to the limit specified in sub-section (2)." The limit specified in sub-section (2) is not of relevance in this application. The relevant date, according to sub-section (8) of the same section, would in this case be the date of the first appointment of the provisional liquidator. The first proposition of Mr. Balaji, viz. , that deductions could be made only by an employer from out of wages payable by him necessarily follows upon the earlier step of payment of wages which again, according to the Payment of Wages Act, is a liability resting only on an employer. If therefore Mr. Balaji wants to contend, so, far as deductions are concerned, that the conditions precedent for such deductions is the continued existence of the relationship of employer and employee, then he should necessarily accept the position that the condition precedent for workers claiming paymen ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... whether with or without deductions, but does not provide for the time within which the payment is to be made." It will be seen that the language of the definition itself is so clear that one could scarcely entertain any doubt on the question whether retrenchment compensation is or is not included within it. The definition in express terms includes within the meaning of "wages" a sum which by reason of the termination of employment becomes payable under any law. The law which makes such sum payable by an employer is contained in Chapter VA of the Industrial Disputes Act. It is also clear that such payment is one in respect of employment, because it is compensation for loss of employment on account of the termination of services. It is unnecessary to cite cases in support of this view. However, reference may be made to the decision of the Supreme Court in Balasubrahmanya Rajaram v. B.C. Patil [1958] 14 F.J.R. 167 ; AIR 1958 SC 518 and to the decision of a Bench of this court in Chandrasekhar v. Abdullah [1963] Mys. L.J. 309. Mr. Balaji, however, has sought to make a distinction by contending that any sum which by reason of the termination of employment becomes payable und ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... idator and to file objections, if any, it has to be held that the figures calculated by the official liquidator are no longer open to question. I, therefore, authorise the official liquidator to deduct from retrenchment compensation payable to each worker the amounts as calculated by the official liquidator and set out in the tabulated statement as due from such worker on account of advances made to him by the company and on account of rent and water tax in respect of house accommodation provided to him. So far as the claims of the co-operative society are concerned, the official liquidator points out that the only provision for making deductions from wages on account of amounts payable by the workmen to the society is section 34 of the Mysore Co-operative Societies Act of 1959, which reads as follows : "34. Deduction from salary to meet Society's claim in certain cases. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, a member of a co-operative society may execute an agreement in favour of the society providing that his employer shall be competent to deduct from the salary or wages payable to him by the employer, such amount as may be specifi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... inion from the persons associated with or interested in the workers and also call before me some of the former officers of the company to enquire whether they would be willing to assist the liquidator in the matter of identifying the workers and in other incidental matters. I found, however, that the position instead of getting clarified appeared to become more complicated and to assume the character of an unseemly competition between rival claimants to leadership of labour. I have, therefore, dropped further enquiry into this aspect of the matter, being clearly of the opinion that the company court cannot be permitted to be made use of in this way. I therefore direct the official liquidator to proceed in accordance with rules 276 and 277 and the particulars set out in Forms Nos. 138 and 139 of the Companies (Court) Rules, with the following further directions: The notice in Form No. 138 should set out the gross amount of retrenchment compensation payable to each worker, deductions to be made therefrom and the net amount payable to him. It should contain the following further particulars, viz. , that the person entitled to receive the payment may request the same to be despatc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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