1981 PLP (C (PLC(CS))
DIVISIONAL SUPERINTENDENT, PAKISTAN RAILWAYS, LAHORE Versus THE AUTHORITY UNDER PAYMENT OF WAGES ACT, LAHORE
| Citation | 1981 PLP (C (PLC(CS)) |
| Forum / Court | Lahore High Court |
| Bench Members | M. Dilawar Mahmood, J |
| Parties | DIVISIONAL SUPERINTENDENT, PAKISTAN RAILWAYS, LAHORE Versus THE AUTHORITY UNDER PAYMENT OF WAGES ACT, LAHORE |
Q1: What are the key laws and sections cited in 1981 PLP (C (PLC(CS))?
This judgment primarily cites: statutory provisions as referenced in Pakistani case law index.
Q2: Which judicial bench decided the case 1981 PLP (C (PLC(CS))?
The case was heard and decided by the Lahore High Court bench comprising: M. Dilawar Mahmood, J.
Q3: What is the official citation format for this judgment on Pakistan Law Portal?
Cite this legal precedent as: 1981 PLP (C (PLC(CS)) (DIVISIONAL SUPERINTENDENT, PAKISTAN RAILWAYS, LAHORE Versus THE AUTHORITY UNDER PAYMENT OF WAGES ACT, LAHORE). Read the full summary and cross-referenced laws free on Pakistan Law Portal.
Representation
- Muhammad Arif , A: G. S. M. Molisin, Said Ali and Taj Muhammad Khan for Petitioner.
- Abdul Basil for Respondent.
- It is argued that according to these rules, "running allowance" cannot be paid during periods of casual leave. It is further submitted that the pay of running staff did not include running allowance and that 55 */o of running allowance admissible to running staff has been treated as part of pay only for specific purposes, i.e. for working out `contribution to State Railway Provident Fund', 'Special Contribution to P. F., `Leave Salary', Pension' etc., as per West Pakistan (Non‑Gazetted) Railway Servants (Pay Revision) Rules, 1963 and that it did not include "recreation leave", It was further argued by the learned Advocate‑General that the Authority under the Payment of Wages Act could not resort to interpret the Presidential Order of 1974 which dealt with the recreation allowance and recreation leave. It was further submitted that if it is established that the Authority had no jurisdiction in the matter then the question of filing an appeal against its order before the Labour Court would not arise. 1t was further contended that as the Labour Court had already taken a decision in a number of appeals against the Railway adminis tration it was not necessary to file further appeals in respect of this very controversy and the petitioner could legitimately come to this Court directly and invoke its jurisdiction under Article 199 of the Constitution.
- The cumulative effect of all the aforementioned provisions is that the pay of running staff would include running allowance when they take leave on average pay. Since recreation leave equal to one month's pay is admissible to Railway employee once in three years when he takes leave on average pay for not less than 15 days, it would imply that he would get recreation allowance equal to one month's pay subject to a maximum of Rs. 1,000 and this pay would include running allowance because a member of running staff is entitled to running allowance in all contingencies referred to above. The entire basis of the argument of the learned Advocate‑General on behalf of the petitioner is that according to rule 511, General Manager is not entitled to frame rules without the sanction of the Railway Division granting running allowance or special allowances during periods of casual leave. This may be so, but this rule would be attracted only if it is established that a member of running staff has taken casual leave. Order of the President granting recreation allowance specifically lays down that the said allowance is admissible when a Railway servant takes leave on average pay for not less than 15 days. It nowhere lays down that this leave is to be treated as casual leave. In paragraph (ii) of the said letter it is laid down that the casual leave, in the year in which this leave (recreation leave) is taken, will be reduced from 20 days to 10 days and that this recreation leave like casual leave would be treated as duty and would not be debited to the leave account. In other words the recreation leave is a leave taken on average pay. For the purpose of leave account, this leave would not be debited to the leave account of the employee and that during the period of this leave the employee would be treated as if on duty as is the case with the casual leave. The said letter is capable of no other interpretation. According to rule 2116 (Fundamental Rule No. 76) leave account is to be maintained for each railway servant in terms of leave on average pay.
- Learned Advocate‑General submitted that the said policy letter was merely an inter‑departmental communication and was not meant to confer any right upon the respondents. He further added that the said letter was cancelled subsequently on 26th January, 1977, by the Federal Government vide letters (Annexure J/1 and J/2) documents filed by Advocate‑General. This may be so, but the fact remains that the said policy letter of the Vice -Chairman dated 13th November, 1974, held the field for almost three years and this Court can legitimately use the said departmental construction of the President's letter in aid of interpretation. Reliance in this regard is placed upon‑
- 19. The learned Advocate‑General has also placed on the file a communication No. 32‑E/27‑II (E‑I/E) dated 20‑4‑1980 addressed to him from the Chairman, Railway Board. Para. (ii) which is pertinent in this case is reproduced below:--
- 20. The learned Advocate‑General who is appearing for the petitioner has vehemently argued that according to the definition of `wages', as given in the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, means admitted or undisputed wages and consequently a claim under section 15 of Payment of Wages Act, 1936 would only be entertained by the authority under the said Act if there was no dispute between the Railway Administration and the employee. According to him in the instant case the Railway Administration was disputing the claim of the employees with regard to the running allowance during recreation leave as part of the wages, therefore, the authority under the Payment of Wages Act had no jurisdiction to entertain the application of the employees/respondents. Reliance in this regard was placed upon Simplax Manufacturing Co. Ltd. v. Alla‑ud‑Din (AIR 1945 Lah. 195). It was held in this case that the delayed wages can only mean wages which are admittedly due, but the payment of which has been postponed on some excuse or another and that any bona fide dispute as to the amount payable is to be tried by a civil Court. The learned Judge has relied upon subsection (3) of section 15 of Payment of Wages Act to hold that direction cannot be given when delay in payment of wages is due to a bona fide dispute as to the amount payable to the employed person‑
Judgment & Decree
30. W. P. 3431/1979 Ditto Muhammad Nawaz Khan son of Khadim Hussain.
31. W. P. 3432/1979 Ditto Abdul Majid son of Inayat Ullah.
32. W. P. 3433/1979 Ditto Hameed Ahmad son Ch. Faiz Ahmad.
33. W. P. 3434/1979 Ditto M. A. Siddique son of Maqbool Ahmad.
34. W. P. 3435/1979 Ditto Ehsan Elahi Malik son of M. Khalid.
35. W. P. 3436/1979 Ditto Muhammad Jamil son of Jan Muhammad.
36. W. P. 3437/1979 Ditto Fateh Muhammad.
37. W. P. 3438/1979 Ditto M. Z. Zafar son of A. Rehman.
38. W. P. 3439/1979 Ditto Siraj Din son of Feroz Din.
39. W. P. 3440/1979 Ditto A. Majid Rahi son Khewa Khan.
40. W. P. 3441/1979 Ditto Ch. Bashir Ahmad son of Abdur Rehman.
41. W. P. 3442/1979 Ditto Muhammad Rafique son of Amir Ali.
42. W. P. 3443/1979 Ditto M. Saleem Shakir son Ghulam Nabi.
43. W. P. 3444/1979 Ditto Sultan Mahmood son of Ghulam Muhammad.
44. W. P. 3445/1979 Ditto Mohammad Latif Nagra son of Ch. Suba Khan.
45. W. P. 3446/1979 Ditto Sabir Ali son of Ch. Rehmat Ali.
46. W. P. 3447/1979 Ditto Ahmad Din son of Charag Din.
47. W. P. 3448/1979 Ditto Abdur Rashid Rana son of Zahoor Din.
48. W. P. 3449/1979 Ditto Abdur Rehman son of Ghulam Rasul.
49. W. P. 3450/1979 Ditto Abdul Latif son of Dr. Shah Muhammad.
50. W. P. 3451/ 1979 Ditto Mohammad Akbar Mali son of A. Yar Khan.
51. W. P. 3452/1979 Ditto Bashir Ahmad son of Mehr Din.
52. W. P. 3453/1979 Ditto Hakim Ali Ch. son of Qutab Din.
53. W. P. 3454/1979 Ditto Muhammad Jamil son of M. Ismail.
54. W. P. 3455/ 1979 Ditto Barkat Ali Kamboh son of Kamal Din.
55. W. P. 3456/1979 Ditto ,, Mohammad Shafi son of Mohammad Bakhsh. 56 W. P. 3457/1979 Ditto Ghulam Haider Shah son of Atta Mohammad.
57. W. P. 3458/1979 Ditto Saeed Ahmad son of Ch. Sardar Mohammad.
58. W. P. 3459/1979 Ditto Siddique Ahmad son of Ch. Bashir Ahmad.
59. W. P. 3460/1979 Ditto Altaf Hussain son of Ghulam Nabi.
60. W. P. 3461/1979 Ditto Soofi Bashir Ahmad son of Mohammad Yaqub.
61. W. P. 346211979 Ditto Mohammad Hanif son of Ghulam Mohammad.
62. W. P. 3463/1979 Ditto Abdul Hamid son of M. Fateh Muhammad.
63. W. P. 3464/1979 Ditto Muhammad Iqbal Akhtar son of Abdul Ghafoor.
64. W. P. 3465/1979 Ditto S. B. Mirza son of Abdul Ghani.
65. W. P. 3466/1979 Ditto Nazir Ahmad son of Ali Bakhsh.
66. W. P. 3467/1979 Ditto Abbas Hussain Shah son of Mohammad Hussain.
67. W. P. 3468/1979 Ditto Naseer Alam son of Sheikh A. Aziz.
68. W. P. 3469/1979 Ditto ,, Sher Mohammad son of Fateh Muhammad.
69. W. P. 3470/1979 Ditto S. Manzoor Hussain Shah son of Noorullah Shah.
70. W. P. 4162/1979 Ditto Mohammad Tufail son of Nizamuddin etc.
71. W. P. 2684/1979 Ditto Bashir Ahmad Ch. son of Abdul Hakeem.
72. W. P. 2685/1979 Ditto Ghulam Alison of Rehmat.
73. W. P. 2686/1979 Ditto Abdul Ghafoor son of Noor Elahi.
74. W. P. 2687/1979 Ditto Saeed Ahmad son of Ahmad.
75. W. P. 2688/1979 Ditto Gulfraz Khan.
76. W. P. 2689/1979 Ditto Abdul Majid Khan son of Durran Khan.
77. W. P. 2690/1979 Ditto Shah Nawaz son of Maiz Ullah Khan.
78. W. P. 2691/1979 Ditto ,, Abdul Ghafoor son of Ghulam Muhammad.
79. W. P. 2692/1979 Ditto Jamal Din son of Lal Din.
80. W. P. 2693/1979 Ditto Bashir Ahmad Tanvir son of Chiragh Din.
81. W. P. 2694/1979 Ditto Muhammad Ibrahim Khan son of Mohammad Umar Khan.
82. W. P. 2695/1979 Ditto Mushtaq Hussain son of Ghulam Hussain.
83. W. P. 2696/1979 Ditto Ali Muhammad son of Gul Muhammad.
84. W. P. 2697/1979 Ditto Abdur Rahim son of Abdul Latif.
85. W. P. 2698/1979 Ditto Hathi Khan son of Allah Dad Khan.
86. W. P. 2699/1979 Ditto Abdul Waheed son of Abdul Karim.
87. W. P. 2700/1979 Ditto ,, Ghulam Mohammad son of Gul Mohammad.
88. W. P. 2701/1979 Ditto Muhammad Awaz Khan son of Surat Khan.
89. W. P. 2702/1979 Ditto Mohammad Hafeez Khan son of Said Mohammad.
90. W. P. 4229/1079 Ditto Raja Mohammad Hayat son of Raja Nawaz Khan etc. _______________________________________________________________________ 78 cases in which appeals were filed but dismissed as time barred or for non‑prosecution. _______________________________________________________________________ S. No. Case No. Petitioner Respondents _______________________________________________________________________
1. W. P. 3925/1979 Divisional Superinten. Vs. Muhammad Ashraf son dent, Pakistan Rail‑ of Siraj‑uddin. way, Lahore.
2. W. P. 3926/1979 Ditto Ehsan Ahmad son of Ramzan Khan
3. W. P. 3927/1979 Ditto Asghar Ali son of Farid Bux.
4. W. P. 3928/1979 Ditto M. Abdul Waheed son of A. A. Din.
5. W. P. 3929/1979 Ditto Muhammad Ashraf son of Aziz Din.
6. W. P. 3930/1979 Ditto Mr. Nasrullah Khan son of Fazal Din.
7. W. P. 3931/1979 Ditto Muhammad Yousaf Khan son of A. H. Khan.
8. W. P. 3932/1979 Ditto Haji M. A. Ghani son of Hussain Bux.
9. W. P. 3933/1979 Ditto Anwar Ali Shah son of Muhammad Siddiq Shah,
10. W. P. 3934/1979 Ditto S. Chaman son of Sardar Masih.
11. W. P. 3935/1979 Ditto Mumtaz Ali Mirza son of M. Mehr Din.
12. W. P. 3936/1979 Ditto Muhammad Latif son of Imam Din.
13. W. P. 3937/1979 Ditto Wali Muhammad son of Faqir Muhammad.
14. W. P. 393811979 Ditto Amanullah Baig son of Mirza War Baig
15. W. P. 4048/1979 Ditto Muhammad Awnr Bajwa son of Allah Bux.
16. W. P. 4419/1979 Ditto Ejaz Hussain son of Muhammad Hussain
17. W. P. 4420/1979 Ditto Muhammad Yousaf Pal son of Muhammad Azam.
18. W. P. 4421/1979 Ditto Muhammad Din son of Nawab Din.
19. W. P. 4422/1979 Ditto Ehtashamul Hassan son of Riazul Hasan.
20. W. P. 4423/1979 Ditto Muhammad Yaqub son of Ch. Lal Din.
21. W. P. 4424/1979 Ditto Iftikhar Ahmad son of Ghulam Muhammad.
22. W. P. 4425/1979 Ditto Abdul Wahab son of Karim Bux.
23. W. P. 4426/1979 Ditto Abdul Latif Mugbal :on of Allah Din.
24. W. P. 4427/1979 Ditto Zawar Hussain son of Fayyaz Hussain.
25. W. P. 4428/1979 Ditto Muhammad Haoif son of Maula
26. W. P. 4429/1979 Ditto Bashir Ahmad Khan son of Sardar Khan.
27. W. P. 4430/1979 Ditto M. Ismail Miskey son of M. M. Yousaf.
28. W. P. 4431/1979 Ditto Amanullah son of Khushi Muhammad.
29. W. P. 4432/1979 Ditto M. M. Asghar son of Abdul Aziz.
30. W. P. 4433/1979 Ditto Abdur Rehman son of Muhammad Bux.
31. W. P. 4645/ 1979 Ditto Sardar Ali Rizvi son of Akbar Hussain.
32. W. P. 4646/1979 Ditto Mushtaq Ali son of Rehmat Ali.
33. W. P. 4647/1979 Ditto Muhammad Jamil son of Jan Muhammad.
34. W. P. 4648/1979 Ditto Akhtar Jilani son of Ghulam Jilani.
35. W. P. 4714/1979 Ditto Rehmat Ali Gill son of Ali Muhammad.
36. W. P. 4715/1979 Ditto Niamat Ali son of Ali Muhammad.
37. W. P. 4716/1979 Ditto Nisar Ahmad Khan son of A. Aziz Khan.
38. W. P. 4717/1979 Ditto Mr. R. A. Toor son of G. M. Khalid.
39. W. P. 4718/1979 Ditto Muhammad Ashraf son of Muhammad Hussain
40. W. P. 4926/1979 Ditto Abdul Waheed son of Abdul Hameed.
41. W. P. 4927/1979 Ditto Sabir Javid son of Bashir Ahmad.
42. W. P. 4928/1979 Ditto Talib Hussain son of Ghulam Hussain.
43. W. P. 4929/1979 Ditto Ahmad Ali son of Muhammad Boota.
44. W. P. 4930/1979 Ditto S. Akhtar Hussain Shah son of S. Muhammad Hussain.
45. W. P. 5204/1979 Ditto Mukhtar Ahmad son of Fazal Elahi.
46. W. P. 5205/1979 Ditto Bashir Ahmad Navid son of Ilam Din.
47. W. P. 5206/1979 Ditto Shahabuddin son of Ghafar Ahmad Khan.
48. W. P. 5207/1979 Ditto Abdul Latif Khan son of Turat Khan.
49. W. P. 5208/1979 Ditto S. Iqtiza Hussain son of Haider Hussain.
50. W. P. 5209/1979 Ditto Ghayyur Hussain son of A. A. Safdar.
51. W. P 5210/1979 Ditto Abdul Sattar Mian son of Ghulam Muhammad.
52. W. P. 5211/1979 Ditto Muhammad Ayub son of Sultan Ali.
53. W. P. 5212/1979 Ditto M. R. George son of Mr. Ganga Ram.
54. W. P. 5213/1979 Ditto Iqbal Noor Ullah son of Ghulam Muhammad.
55. W. P. 5214/1979 Ditto Shafiq Ahmad son of Abdul Aziz.
56. W. P. 5215/1979 Ditto Alauddin son of Faridud Din.
57. W. P. 5216/ 1979 Ditto M. Hafeez Khan son of M. Muhammad Din.
58. W. P. 5217/1979 Ditto ,, Muhammad Bhatti, son of Fazal Din. 59 W. P. 5218/1979 Ditto ,, Abdul Majid Rajput son of Ataullah.
60. W. P. 5246/1979 Ditto Gulzar Ahmad.
61. W. P. 5247/ 1979 Ditto Abdur Rehman son of Shadi Khan.
62. W. P. 5248/1979 Ditto Khalilur Rehman son of Nazir Ali.
63. W. P. 5249/1979 Ditto Muhammad Sadiq Bhatti, son of Hasan Khan.
64. W. P. 5250/1979 Ditto Abdul Hussain son of Abdul Hafeez. 65 W. P. 5251/1979 Ditto Muhammad Siddique son of Maula Bux.
66. W. P. 5252/1979 Ditto Habibullah Khan son of Muhammad Shafi.
67. W. P. 5253/1979 Ditto Muhammad Usman son of Niaz Muhammad. 68 W. P. 5254/1979 Ditto Muhammad Sharif.
69. W. P. 5255/1979 Ditto Muhammad Akbar son of Abdul Waheed.
70. W. P. 5256/1979 Ditto S. Ahmad Hussain son of Nathe Shah.
71. W. P. 5257/1979 Ditto Zahoor Ahmad son of Shah Muhammad.
72. W. P. 5258/1979 Ditto Ahdul Ghafoor son of Muhammad Din.
73. W. P. 5259/1979 Ditto Muhammad Aslam son of Shah Muhammad.
74. W. P. 5260/1979 Ditto Khushi Muhammad son of Ghulam Muhammad.
75. W. P. 6549/1979 Ditto ,, Muhammad son of Ch. Mehar Din.
76. W. P. 6550/1979 Ditto ,, Muhammad Sharif son Faiz Muhammad 77 W. P. 6551/1979 Ditto ,, Mushtaq Ahmad son of Ch. Muhammad Ali.
78. W. P. 4749/1979 Ditto ,, Ghulam Masih. _______________________________________________________________________