Hyderabad:The Telangana High Court has held that a contract worker claiming wages from a government department must first establish an employer-employee relationship, and that such a relationship could not be presumed merely because the department had entrusted the work to contractors.
Justice Laxmi Narayana Alishetty made the finding while setting aside an order of the payment of wages authority, which had directed the panchayat raj department to pay wages and compensation to a waterman.
The dispute arose from the Netherlands Assistance Programme undertaken to provide protected drinking water to 110 villages in the erstwhile Medak district. After the project was completed, maintenance of the water-supply system was entrusted on a contractual basis, with the contractors receiving lump-sum payments and engaging their own personnel.
The waterman claimed that he had worked under the department and had been paid wages below the applicable state scheduled rates (SSR). The payment of wages authority, Sangareddy, accepted his claim and awarded compensation at three times the amount claimed
The High Court held that the initial burden was on the worker to establish the employer-employee relationship. It noted that there was no appointment order, agreement, wage register, muster roll or other document showing that the department had employed him.
HC held Financier of Vehicle cannot be liable to pay the compensation to the injured driver
Hyderabad:The Telangana High Court has held that the financier of a vehicle could not be treated as the principal employer of a driver merely because the vehicle was purchased under a hire-purchase agreement and remained hypothecated to the financier.
Justice Laxmi Narayana Alishetty set aside a 2007 order by the Workmen Compensation Tribunal, directing a vehicle financier to pay Rs 4.73 lakh compensation to a driver who suffered grievous injuries in a road accident. The court noted that when the vehicle’s registered owner had employed the driver, then there is no vicarious liability on the financier who financed the registered owner to purchase the vehicle.
Justice Alishetty held that the role of a financier was limited to providing capital or financial assistance and that a financier did not manage, control or participate in the hirer’s business. Therefore, a financier could not be treated as a “principal employer” under Section 12 of the Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923.
The judge was dealing with a petition filed by the financier, against the tribunal`s order to pay a sum of `4,72,198 together with stamp fee and advocate fee of totalling to `4,73,643 to the driver who met with the accident while driving the vehicle. The tribunal held that the driver was appointed by the registered owner as an agent of the financier, who had control over the vehicle.
HC modified the earlier orders in regarding to action against police officials in Assembly session day
Hyderabad:The Telangana High Court rejected the state government`s request to withdraw orders to take action police officials who had misbehaved with BRS legislators, particularly women, at the Assembly gates on September 7. The court faulted the police attitude and observed that they were not in a position to reply to the questions raised by the court with regard to their action on the women legislators.
However, the court modified its previous orders by directing the DGP to identify the police officials who misbehaved with or manhandled the women legislators and to furnish the same before the Speaker for necessary action, if such incident occurred in the precincts of the Assembly. If the incident happened outside the precincts, and at the entry point of the Assembly, the DGP must take action against erring officials and submit a report to the High Court.
Justice Tangirala Madhavi Devi had on September 7 directed the DGP to take action against personnel accused of excessive action in obstructing BRS legislators from entering the Assembly. The court had also questioned the police for acting on their own to restrain the legislators and observed that the Speaker was the only authority to take any decision if the MLA was in violation of House rules.
Challenging the directions to the DGP to take action against the police personnel involved in the incident, the state has filed a vacate application. After hearing the application earlier, the High Court on Tuesday pronounced the orders.
Justice Madhavi Devi, while modifying her earlier interim orders, made it clear that while police could assist in maintaining order in the Assembly precincts on the directions of the Speaker, their role was confined to maintaining law and order and did not permit them to misbehave with legislators.
The court noted that there was no allegation or evidence before it that the BRS women legislators had misbehaved with the police. The judge noted that there was no explanation offered by the authorities with regard to the obstruction or mistreatment of women legislators even though there was no specific violation by them. The court noted that the police were not in a position to explain as to why the women legislators were taken to BRS Bhavan when they were not violating any of the directives of the Speaker.
The court pointed out that the FIR registered over the incident did not refer to any violation of prohibitory orders by the BRS legislators. Particularly, the court considered the point that the prohibitory orders were in respect of assembling of public meeting or holding a procession near or in a four-km radius of the Assembly, and not against entry into the Assembly by the MLAs or MLCs.
The court stopped short of accepting the allegation made by the BRS Legislature Party, that the police had acted in a “highhanded manner”. The court observed that such a contention was based on presumptions at the interim stage.
HC dismissed RTC Telangana Mazdoor Union`s plea on symbol
Hyderabad:The Telangana High Court has declined to intervene in the allotment of an election symbol to the RTC Telangana Mazdoor Union in the ongoing Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) workers’ union elections, which are scheduled on October 9.
Justice Juvvadi Sridevi dismissed the plea filed by the RTC Telangana Mazdoor Union, represented by its general secretary Thomas Reddy, challenging the allotment of the “Ladder” symbol to the union instead of its earlier “Bow and Arrow” symbol.
The petitioner union contended that the “Bow and Arrow” symbol had been allotted to it several years ago and that it had contested more than two elections using the same symbol. It alleged that the labour commissioner and other authorities had acted in an arbitrary manner in allotting the symbol to the RTC Workers Union represented by E. Ashwathama Reddy.
The petitioner sought a direction to the commissioner and joint commissioner of labour and the returning officer to restore the “Bow and Arrow” symbol for its union. Justice Sridevi declined to intervene with the decision, holding that the election process had already been set in motion.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
