Claims arising out of deductions from wages or delay in payment of wages and penalty for malicious or vexatious claims

(1) Where contrary to the provisions of this Act any deduction has been made from the wages of an employee, or any payment of wages has been delayed, or any sum is otherwise due from the employer to the employee, such employee, or any legal practitioner or any authorised agent or any officer of a registered trade union or any Inspecting Officer may make an application in such manner, within such time, and to such authority as may be prescribed for a direction under sub-section (2). (2) When an application under sub-section (1) is entertained, the prescribed authority shall hear the application in the prescribed manner and may, without prejudice to any other penalty to which an employer is liable under this Act, direct the refund of the amount deducted, or payment of the delayed wages or any sum to the employee together with the payment of a compensation not exceeding ten times the amount deducted in the first case and not exceeding ten rupees in other case. Provided that no direction for the Compensation shall be made in the case of delayed wages if the authority is satisfied that the delay was due to — (a) A bona fide error or bona fide dispute as to the amount payable to the employed person, or (b) The occurrence of an emergency, or the existence of exceptional circumstances, such that the person responsible for the payment of the wages was unable though exercising reasonable diligence to make prompt payment, or (c) The failure of the employed person to apply for or accept payment. (3) If the authority hearing any application under this section is satisfied that it was either malicious or vexatious, the authority may direct that a penalty not exceeding twenty-five rupees be paid to the employer or other person responsible for the payment of wages by the person presenting the application. (4) Any amount directed to be paid under this section shall be recovered in the prescribed manner. (5) A single application may be presented under this section on behalf or in respect of any number of employed persons belonging to the same unpaid group, and in such case the maximum compensation that may be awarded under sub-section (2) shall be ten rupees per head. Explanation.—Employed persons are said to belong to the same unpaid group if they are borne on the same establishment and if their wages for the same wage period or periods have remained unpaid after the day fixed by section 23. (6) The, authority may deal with any numbers of separate pending applications, presented under this section in respect of persons belonging to the same unpaid group, as a single application presented under sub-section (5) and the provisions of that sub-section shall apply accordingly. (7) An appeal against an order dismissing either wholly or in part an application made under sub-section (1) or against a direction made under sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) may be preferred in such manner, within such time and to such authority as may be prescribed and such authority shall consider and dispose of such appeals in the prescribed manner. (8) Save as provided in sub-section (7), any order dismissing either wholly or in part of an application made under sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) shall be final. (9) Every authority appointed under this section shall have all the powers of a Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (V 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 XXXV of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (V of 1898). Establishments of M/s Metallurgical and Engineering Consultants (India) Ltd., Ranchi located at Ranchi and Bokaro Steel City. (Exempted from: All provisions except Section 6 and Chapter III, IV and VII.)