New Delhi: In a morale booster for working journalists and newspaper employees, the Supreme Court Friday upheld the validity of the Majithia wage boards, observing their recommendations for wage hike are based on genuine considerations. It also junked newspaper organisations’ challenge to the constitutional validity of the working journalists and newspaper employees act.
Justice G.R. Majithia was appointed chairman of the two wage boards for journalists and non-journalists in 2009, and his recommendations for wage hikes for both categoriers of newspapwer employees were notified by the government Nov 11, 2011.
A bench of Chief Justice P. Sathasivam, Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Shiva Kirti Singh said: “Accordingly, we hold that the recommendations of the Wage Boards are valid in law, based on genuine and acceptable considerations, and there is no valid ground for interference under Article 32 of the Constitution of India.” Upholding the validity of the Majithia wage boards, the court said: “The wages as revised/determined shall be payable from Nov 11, 2011, when the government notified the recommendations of the Majithia Wage Boards.”
“All the arrears up to March 2014 shall be paid to all eligible people in four equal instalments within a period of one year from today and continue to pay the revised wages from April 2014 onwards,” the court said in its order.
Examining the challenge to the constitutional validity of the Working Journalist Act, Chief Justice Sathasivam, pronouncing the judgment, said the court was of the opinion that the challenge to the act “is wholly unfounded, baseless and completely untenable”.
Addressing the contention by the newspaper organisations that the wage boards have not taken into account regional variations, the court said: “It is clear from the report that the Wage Boards have categorized the HRA and transport allowance into X, Y and Z category regions, which reflects that the cost on accommodation and transport in different regions in the country was considered.”
The court also rejected the newspaper organisations’ objection to the appointment of former law secretary K.M.Sahni and journalist P.N.Prasanna Kumar as independent members of the board.
“Merely because K.M. Sahni was a part of the government that took the decision to set up the Wage Boards, does not automatically follow that he ceased to be an ‘independent’ member of the Wage Boards. K.M. Sahni is an independent member of the Board and cannot be considered to be ‘biased’.” (IANS)