HARYANA UNRECOGNISED SCHOOLS ASSOCIATIONversusSTATE OF HARYANA

     HARYANA UNRECOGNISED SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION                                      A
                                      v.
                          STATE OF HARYANA

                              APRIL, 12, 1996

           [K. RAMASWAMY AND G.B. PATTANAIK, JJ.]                                  B

     Labour Law :

       Minimum Wages Act, 1948: Sections 2(i), 3, 5(2), 27 and Schedule,
pa1t I, Item 40.
                                                                                   c
       Addition to Schedule--Teaclws in educational institlltiom~ssue of
notification to bring them within pwview of Act-Held : teachei,· were not
employees under S.2(i)-Hence, could not be brought within pwview of Act
by notification under S.27 for fixing their minimum wages.
                                                                                   D
      Interpretation of Statutes.:

      Statzlte-Beneficial interpretation-Applicability of-Related only to
those employments which are intended to be covered by Statute and not to
others.
                                                                                   E
      The State Government in exercise of po\\·er conferred under Section
27 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 added in part I of the Schedule Item
No. 40 describing "Employment in Private coaching classes, schools includ-
ing Nursery Schools and technical institutions", for the purpose of fixing
minimum rate of wages for the employees. therein. By a Notification the
State Government in exercise of power conferred under Section 5(2) of the          F
Act fixed the minimum rate of wages in respect of the different categories
of employees serving in such schools. Writ petition challenging the
aforesaid notification so far as it related to teachers \\'ere filed in the High
Court which were dismissed. Aggrieved by the High Court's judgment the
appellant preferred the present appeal.                                            G
      Allowing the appeal, this Court

      HELD : 1. A combined reading of Sections 2(i), 3 and 27 of the
Minimum Wages Act, 1948 as well as the statement of Objects and Reasons
of the legislation make it explicitely clear that the State Government can H
                                      253
    254                    SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1996] SUPP. 1 S.C.R.

A   add to either Part of the Schedule any employment where persons are
    employed for hire or reward to do any work skilled or unskilled, manual
    or clerical. If the persons employed do not do the work of any skilled or
    unskilled or of a manual or clerical nature then it would not be possible
    for the State Government to include such an employment in the Schedule
    in exercise of power under Section 27 of the Act. Since the teachers of an
B   educational institution are not employed to do any skilled or unskilled
    manual or clerical work and therefore could not be held to be an employee
    under Section 2(i). of the Act, it is beyond the competence of the State
    Government to bring them under the purview of the Act by adding the
    employment in education institution in the Schedule in exercise of power
c   under Section 27 of the Act. Hence the State Government in exercise of
    powers under the Act is not entitled to fix minimum wages of such teachers.
    The impugned notifications so far as the teachers of the educational
    institution are concerned are accordingly quashed. [258-G-H; 259-A-B; F]

            Miss A. Sundarambal v. Government of Goa, Daman & Diu and
D Others, [1988] 4 sec 42, relied on.
          Ministry of Labour & Rehabilitation and another v. Tiffin's Barytes
    Asbestos & Paints Ltd. and another, [1985] 3 SCC 594, referred to.

         2. It is true that while construing the provisions of a statute like
E
    Minimum Wages Act, 1948 a beneficial interpretation has to he preferred
    which advances the object of the Act. But nevertheless it has to he borne
    in mind that the beneficial interpretation should relate only to those
    employments which are intended to be covered by the Act and not to others.
                                                                   [257-G-H]
F
         M/s. Bhikusa Yamasa Kshat1iya and another v. Sangamner Ako/a
    Taluka Bidi Kamgar Union and Otliers, (1963] 2 SC 242, referred tu.

            CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 7114 of
    1996.
G
         Prom the Judgment and Order date.cl 28.9.92 of the Punjab &
    Haryana High Court in C.W.P. No. 3599 of 1983.

            S.M. Bhandari, Vipin Nair and Rajiv Dutta for the Appellant.

H           Ms. Suruchi Aggarwal and Ms. Indu Malhotra for the Respondent.
       HARYANA UNRECOGNISED s.CHOOLS ASSN. v. STATE                   255

     The following Order of the Court was delivered by                       A

     PATIANAIK, J. Leave granted.

      This appeal by special leave is directed against the judgment of the
Punjab and Haryana High Court in Civil Writ Petition No. 3599 of 1983        B
dismissing the writ petition filed by the appellants.

       The short question that arises for consideration is whether teachers
of an educational institution can be held to be employee under Section 2(i)
of the Minimum Wages Act (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') to enable
the Government to fix their minimum wages? The Government of Haryana         c
in exercise of power conferred under Section 27 of the Act added in Part
1 of the Schedule Item No. 40 describing "Employment in private coaching
chisses, schools including Nursery Schools and technical institutions", for
the purpose of fixing minimum rate of wages for the employees therein. By
Notification dated 30th of April, 1983 the State Government in exercise of D
power conferred under sub-section (2) of Section 5 of the Act fixed the
minimum rate of wages in respect of the different categories of employees
serving in such schools. Challenging these notifications the writ petitions
were filed essentially on the ground that the teachers of educational
institution come within the purview of the Act since they are not workmen
within the meaning of Industrial Disputes Act nor would they be employee E
under Section 2(i) of the Act. The High Court, however, dismissed the writ
petition on the ground that the power of the Stale Government to add any
employment to the Schedule under Section 27 of the Act is without any
fetter and further the appropriate Government has tried to mitigate the
sufferings and exploitation of the educated trained/untrained teachers at F
the hands of the managements/employers or the private educational institu-
tions· and Section 5 of the Act gives large powers to the appropriate
Government. With regard to the allegation of the writ petitioners that the
views of the representatives of the educational institutions were not taken
into consideration, the High Court repelled the same relying upon the G
decision of this Court in Ministry of Labour & Rehabilitation and another
v. Tiffin's Ba1ytes Asbestos & Paims Ltd. and anothe1; [1985] 3 SCC 594,
wherein this Court had observed that a notification fJXing minimum wages,
in a country where wages are already minimal should not be interfered with
 under Article 226 of the Constitution except on the most substantial
!,'founds and the legislation is a social welfare legislation undertaken to H
    256                  SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1996] SUPP. 1 S.C.R.

A further the Directive Principles of State Policies action taken pursuant to
    it cannot be struck down on mere technicalities.

           Assailing the correctness of the decision of the High Court the
    learned counsel for the appellant contended that the object of the Act
    being to prevent exploitation of the workers and for that purpose it aims
B   at fixation of minimum wages which the employers must pay, the teachers
    of an educational institution cannot be brought within the purview of the
    Act. The learned counsel also contended that the definition of employee
    under Section 2(i) of the Act even if is given a liberal interpretation, will
    not bring within its sweep a teacher of an educational institution since the
c   duty discharged by a teacher can neither be termed as manual or clerical
    nor can it be held to be skilled or unskilled. Accordingly it is contended
    that State Government has ·no power to fix the minimum wage of a teacher
    of an educational institution in exercise of power under Section 5(2) read
    with Section 27 of the Act. The learned counsel appearing for the respon-
    dent on the other hand contended that it was open for the State Govern-
D   ment to add a particular category of employment to the Schedule in
    exercise of power under Section 27 of the Act and since and Management
    of the Schools are exploiting the teachers the State Government to mitigate
    the grievances of the teachers has fixed minimum wage under Section 5(2)
    of the Act and therefore the same should not be interfered with. It may be
E   noted that the counsel appearing for the appellant in course of his argu-
    ment has submitted that the association which filed the writ petition and
    which is appellant before us consist of teachers and if teacher themselves
    do not urge to be brought within the purview of the Act there was no need
    for the Government to bring them within the purview of the Act.

F         In view of rival submitted at the Bar the only question that crops up
    for consideration is whether the teachers of an educational institution can
    be brought within the purview of the Act and the appropriate Government
    can fix the minimun1 \vagc of such teachers by issuing notification under
    the Act?
G          The Statements of Objects and Reasons of the Act justifying the
     statutory fixation of minimum wage states thus :

             "The justification for statutory fixation of minimum wages is ob-
             vious. Such provisions which exist in more advanced countries are
H            even more necessary in India, where workers' organizations are yet
   HARYANAUNRECOGNISEDSCHOOLSASSN. v. SfA1E[PAITANAIK,J.] 257

        poorly developed and the workers' bargaining power is conse-             A
        quently poor."

       In introducing the Bill it had been stated that the items in the
Schedule are those where sweated labour is most prevalent or where there
is a big chance of exploitation of labour. The Act had been pas.sed for the
                                                                                 B
welfare of labour deriving legislative eompetance form Item 27 of the
Concurrent List in the Seventh Schedule to the Government of India Act,
1935. The object of the Act is to prevent exploitation of the workers and
for that purpose it aims at fixation of minimum wages which the employers
must pay. This Court in the Constitution Bench decision in the case of M/s.
Bhikusa Yamasa Kshatriya and another v. Sangamner Ako/a Ta/uka Bidi              c
Kamgar Union and Others, [1963] 2 SCC 242 held that :

             "The object of the Act is to prevent exploitation of the workers,
        !'fld for that purpose it aims at fixation of minimum wages which
        the employers must pay. The Legislature undoubtedly intended to          D
        apply the Act to those industries or localities in which by reason
        of .causes such as unorganised labour or absence of machinery for
        regulation of wages, the wages paid to workers were, in the light
        of the general level of wages, and subsistence level, inadequate.
        Conditions of labour very in different industries and from locality
        to locality and the expediency of fixing minimum wages, and the          E
        rates thereof depends largely upon diverse factors which in their
        very nature are variable and can properly be ascertained by the
        Government which is in charge of the administration of the State.
        It is to carry out effectively the purpose of this enactment that
        power has been given to the appropriate Government to decide             F
        with reference to local conditions, whether it is desirable that
        minimum wages should be fixed in regard to any scheduled trade
        or industry, in any locality, and if it be de~med expedient to do so,
        the rates at which the wages should be fixed in respect of that
        industry in the locality."
                                                                                 G
      There cannot be any dispute with the proposition that while con-
struing the provisions of a statute like Minimum wages Act a beneficial
interpretation has to be preferred which advances the object of the Act.
But nevertheless it has to be borne in mind that the beneficial interpreta-
tion should relate only to those employments which are intended to he H
    258                   SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1996] SUPP. 1 S.C.R.

A   covered by the Act and not to others. Section 3 of the Act provides that
    the appropriate Government shall, in the manner hereinafter provided fix
    the minimum rates of wages payable to employees employed in an employ-
    ment specified in Part I or Part II of the Schedule and in an employment
    added to either Part by notification under section 2. The expression
    'employee' has been defined in Section 2(i) of the Act thus :
B
             "employee" means any person who is employed for hire or reward
             to do any work, skilled or unskilled, manual or clerical, in a
             scheduled employment in respect of which minimum rates of wages
             have been fixed, and includes an out-worker to whom any articles
c            or materials are given out by another person to be made up,
             cleaned, washed, altered, ornamented, finished, repaired, adapted
             or otherwise processed for sale for the purposes of the trade or
             business of that other person where the process is to be carried
             out either in the home of the out-worker or in some other premises
             not being premises under the control and management of that
D            other person; and also includes and employee declared to be an
             employee by the appropriate Government, but does not include
             any member of the armed Forces of the Union.

          Section 27 enables the State Government to add to either part of the
E   Schedule any employment in respect of which it is of opinion that minimum
    rates of wages should be fJXed under the Act. Section 27 read thus :

             "The appropriate Government, after given by notification in the
             Official Gazette not less than three months' notice of its intention
             so to do, may, by notification, add to either Part of the Schedule
F            any employment in respect of which it is of opinion that minimum
             rates of wages should be fixed under this Act, and thereupon the
             Schedule shall in its application to the State be deemed to be
             amended accordingly."

          A combined reading of the aforesaid provisions as well as the object
G of the legislation as indicates earlier make it explicitely clear that the State
    Government can add to either Part of the Schedule any employment where
    persons are employed for hire or reward to do any work skilled or un-
    skilled, manual or clerical. If the persons employed do not do the work of
    any skilled of unskilled or of a manual or clerical nature then it would not
H   be possible for the State Government to include such an employment in
   HARYANAUNRECOGNISEDSCHOOLSASSN. v. SfATE[PATIANAIK,J.] 259

the Schedule in exercise of power under Section 27 of the Act. Since the A
teachers of an educational institution are not employed to do any skilled
or unskilled or manual or clerical work and therefore could not be held to
be an employee under Section 2(i) of the Act. It is beyond the competence
of the State Government to bring them under the purview of the Act by
adding the employment in educational institution in the Schedule in exer-
                                                                           B
cise of power under Section 27 of the Act. This Court while examining the
question whether the teachers employed in a school is workmen under
Industrial Disputes Act had observed in Miss A. Sundaramba/ v. Govern-
ment of Goa, Daman & Diu and Others, [1988) 4 SCC 42 :

         "We are of the view that the teachers employed by educational C
         institutions whether the said institutions are imparting primary,
         secondary, graduate or post-graduate education cannot be called
         as 'workmen' within the meaning of Section 2(s) of the Act.
         Imparting of education which is the main function of teachers
         cannot be construed as skilled or unskilled manual work or clerical
         work. Imparting or education is in the nature of a mission or a D
         noble vocation. A teacher educates children, he moulds their
         character, builds up their personality and makes them fit to become
         responsible citizens. Children grow under care of teachers. The
         clerical work, if any they may do, is only incidental to their
         principal work of teaching."                                        E
       Applying the aforesaid dictum to the definition of employee under
Section 2(i) of the Act it may be held that a teacher would come within
the said definition. In the aforesaid premises we are of the considered
opinion that the teachers of an educational institution cannot be brought
within the purview of the Act and the State Government in exercise of       F
powers under the Act is not entitled to fix the minimum wage of such
teachers. The impugned notifications so far as the teachers of the educa-
tional institution concerned are accordingly quashed. This appeal is al-
lowed. Writ petition filed succeeds to the extent mentioned above. There
will be no order as to costs.
                                                                            G
V.S.S.                                                 Appeal allowed.