CENTRAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH BIHAR

Labour Law II
PROJECT-TOPIC
“Authorities under Payment of Wages Act: Power and Function”

Submitted To Course Instructor Submitted By Student

Ms. Kumari Nitu Divya Meghna

Assistant Proffesor BA.LLB.(Hons)
School of Law & Governance VIIIthSemester
Central University of South Enrollment No. CUSB1613125016
Bihar

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

At this point of time I would like to express my gratitude to all those who gave me their support
to complete this project.

I am grateful to my teacher Ms Kumari Nitu, for giving me permission to commence this project
in the first instance and to do necessary study and research. I want to thank law faculty members
and other faculty members for all their professional advice, value added time, effort and
enterprise help, support, interest and valuable hints that encouraged me to go ahead with my
project.

I am deeply indebted to my colleagues for their meticulous planning, layout, presentation and
above all for their consideration and time.

My heartfelt appreciation also goes to seniors and my classmate for their stimulating suggestions
and encouragement which helped me at each level of my research and in writing of this project.

Especially, I would like to give my special thanks to my parents, family members and god whose
patient love enabled me to complete this project.

I have tried my best to throw light on the topic assigned to me for my project.

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 Table of Contents

Acknowledgement 2

Introduction 4

Authorities under the Payment of Wages Act 5

Authority to monitors: Powers and Functions 6

Authority to hear the claim: Powers and Function 7

Conclusion 10

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 INTRODUCTION

Payment of Wages Act, 1936 has the object to regulate the payment of wages to certain classes
of person engaged in industry. The regulations contemplated in the Act are of two kinds, namely,
about the date of payment of wage, and about deductions from wages whether as fine or
otherwise. The Act aims to provide wages to the employees in form of money at regular interval
and prohibits unlawful deductions from the wages by employer. For the regulation of payment of
wages and compliance with the provisions of this Act various Authorities are appointed. The Act
prescribes the powers and functions of the Authority which is dealt in this project. Every
authority shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of the Indian Penal Code,
1860. The Authorities can be broadly characterized under two heads as per the Section 14 and
Section 15. Section 14 states an Inspector of Factories appointed under sub-section (1) of section
8 of the Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948), shall be an Inspector for the purposes of this Act in
respect of all factories within the local limits assigned to him. As given in Sec. 15 of the Act, the
Appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint :a) Presiding
officer of any Labour Court b) Presiding officer of any Industrial Tribunal c) Any Commissioner
for Workmen’s Compensation d) Any other officer with experience as a Judge of a Civil Court
or as a Judicial Magistrate to be the ‘Authority’ to hear and decide the claims arising out of
deductions from the wages, or delay in payment of the wages of employed persons. Where
payment of wages have been delayed or any deduction has been made from wages, the
application can be made to the Authority by a) The Person himself or b) Any legal practitioner
or c) Any official of a registered trade union, duly authorized in writing. Or d) Any Inspector
under this Act or e) Any other person acting with the permission of the ‘Authority’.

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 Authorities under the Act

The state government may appoint an authority for the purpose of this act. Every authority shall
be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. 

The following are the authorities appointed under this act-

A. Authority for monitoring (Sec- 14)-

i) Inspector

B. Authority for hearing the claim (Sec- 15)-

ii)  any Commissioner for Workmen’s Compensation; or 

iii)  any official of the Central Government practising capacities as – 

  Regional Labour Commissioner; or 

 Assistant Labour Commissioner with at any rate two years’ understanding; or 

iv) any official of the State Government not underneath the position of A ssistant Labor
Commissioner with at least two years’ experience; or 
v) a directing official of any Labor Court or Industrial Tribunal, comprised under the
Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14 of 1947) or under any comparing law identifying
with the examination and settlement of mechanical debates in power in the State; or 
vi)  some other official with experience as a Judge of a Civil Court or a Judicial
Magistrate, as the power to hear and choose for any predefined territory all cases
emerging out of conclusions from the wages, or deferral in instalment of the wages,
of people utilized or paid around there, including all issues accidental to such cases. 
vii) Suitable Government thinks about it essential so to do, it might select more than one
expert for any predefined zone and may, by general or exceptional request,

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 accommodate the conveyance or portion of work to be performed by them under this
Act.1

Authority to Monitor – Inspector

The government may designate a monitor known as Inspector for the purpose of this act.
According to Section 14 an Inspector of Factories appointed under sub-section (1) of section 8 of
the Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948), shall be an Inspector for the purposes of this Act in respect
of all factories within the local limits assigned to him. The appropriate Government may appoint
Inspectors for the purposes of this Act in respect of all persons employed upon a railway
(otherwise than in a factory) to whom this Act applies. The appropriate Government may, by
notification in the Official Gazette, appoint such other persons as it thinks fit to be Inspectors for
the purposes of this Act, and may define the local limits within which and the class of factories
and industrial or other establishments in respect of which they shall exercise their functions.
Each Inspector will be regarded to be a community worker or public servant inside the
importance of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 [Section 14(5)]. 

(a)Power and function of Inspector 

The inspector of this act is having powers and functions as given below: 

 Inspector can make inquiries and assess whether the employers are appropriately
complying with the guidelines referenced under this act. 
 Inspector with such help, assuming any, as he thinks fit, enters, investigate and search
any premises of any railway, production line or mechanical or other foundation at any
sensible time to do the objects of this Act. 
 Inspector can manage the payment of wages to people employed upon any railway or
in any factory or mechanical or other foundation. 
 Seize or make duplicates of such registers or archives or bits thereof as he may
consider significant in regard to an offence under this Act.
1
Payment of Wages Act, 1936, S. 15

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  exercise such other powers as may be prescribed.

While exercising the rights Provided that no person shall be compelled under this sub-section to
answer any question or make any statement tending to incriminate himself. The provisions of the
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) shall, so far as may be, apply to any search or
seizure under this subsection as they apply to any search or seizure made under the authority of a
warrant issued under section 94 of the said Code.

(b)Facilities to be afforded by Inspector (Section 14 A)

Every employer shall afford an Inspector all reasonable facilities for making any entry,
inspection, supervision, examination or inquiry under this Act.2

Authority to hear claim

(a) Power of authorities appointed under Section 15

 Section 18 describes every authority appointed under sub-section (1) of section 15 shall
have all the powers of a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908),
for the purpose of taking evidence and of enforcing the attendance of witnesses and
compelling the production of documents, and every such authority shall be deemed to be
a civil court for all the purposes of section 195 and of Chapter XXVI of the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974).

(b) Functions and procedure to hear claim by the Authority-

 Section 15 prescribes the function of the authorities appointed under this Act and
procedure to be followed by it. Section 15 titled as Claims arising out of deductions from

2
Payment and deduction of Wages under Payment of Wages Act, available at
https://blog.ipleaders.in/payment-wages/ (last visited on April 6, 2020)

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 wages or delay in payment of wages and penalty for malicious or vexatious claims itself
suggest that the purpose of authority appointed under this Section is to hear such claims.

 Section 15(2) states that 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 and every such application shall be presented
within 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. Any application may be admitted after the said period of twelve months when the
applicant satisfies the authority that he had sufficient cause for not making the application
within such period.

 According to Section 15(3) When such application, the authority shall hear the applicant
and the employer or other person responsible for the payment of wages giving them the
opportunity to be heard, and, after such further inquiry (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. The 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.

 According to Section 15(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 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
subsection (3), the applicant ought not to have been compelled to seek redress under this

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 section, the authority may direct that a penalty not exceeding three hundred seventy five
rupees be paid to the appropriate Government by the employer or other person
responsible for the payment of wages.

 According to Section 15(4A) dispute regarding legal representative or representatives of

the employer or of the employed person, the decision of the authority on such dispute
shall be final.

 According to Section 15(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).

 According to Section 15(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 any
Magistrate to whom the authority makes application in this behalf, as if it were a fine
imposed by such Magistrate.3

The authority set up under S. 15 is indisputably a Tribunal of limited jurisdiction. Its power to
hear and determine disputes must necessarily be found in the provisions of the Act. Such a
Tribunal, it is undoubted, cannot determine any controversy which is not within the ambit of
those provisions. The sole question raised before the Supreme Court in Ambica Mills Co. Ltd. v.
S.B. Bhatt 4 related to the jurisdiction of authority under S. 15 of the Act. The Court specifically
held that the only claims which can be entertained by the authority under S. 15 are claims arising
out of deductions or delay made in payment of wages. The jurisdiction thus conferred on the
authority to deal with these two categories of claims is exclusive. In dealing with claims arising
out of deductions or delay made in payment of wages, the authority inevitably would have to
consider questions incidental to the said matters. In determining the scope of these incidental

3
Payment of Wages Act, 1936, S. 15
4
Ambica Mills Co. Ltd. v. S.B. Bhatt, AIR 1961 SC 970.

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questions, care must be taken to see that under the guise of deciding incidental matter the limited
jurisdiction is not unreasonably or unduly extended.5

Conclusion

Payment of Wages Act 1936, prescribes for the authority for the regulated payment of wages by
the employer to the employee. The appointed is twofold, the authority to monitor that is
inspector and the authority to hear the claim filed for the aggrieved. The various power, function,
and procedure is prescribed by the Act so that the authority can regulate the payment of wages
and meet the purpose of the Act. The Authority set up to hear the claim and in words of the
Court, a Tribunal of limited Jurisdiction. The tribunal has the power of Civil Procedure Code and
can impose fine as prescribed in the Payment of Wages Act. The authority appointed is deemed
to be Public Servant. The inspector does inquire, search and seizure and monitor to regulate
payment of wages. Where payment of wages have been delayed or any deduction has been made
from wages, the application can be made to the Authority by a) The Person himself or b) Any
legal practitioner or c) Any official of a registered trade union, duly authorized in writing. Or d)
Any Inspector under this Act or e) Any other person acting with the permission of the
‘Authority’. The Authority hear the claim following the limitation period and dispose the
application in time bound manner by giving the direction mandatory for the justice.

5
P.K Padhi,Llabour and Industrial Law 895(PHI Learning Pvt ltd, New Delhi, 3rd Edition, 2017)

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