Recovery of dues

(1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint any officer of the Labour Department of the State Government not below the rank of an Assistant Labour Commissioner or any other officer with judicial experience as a Judge of a Civil Court or any Subdivisional Judicial Magistrate to be the competent authority having jurisdiction over such area as may be specified in the notification to hear and decide claims arising out of any agreement entered into between the agent and the dadan labourer in pursuance of section 9. (2) Where any agent or any dadan labourer has any claim of the nature referred to in section 11, the claimant himself, or any person authorised by him in writing in this behalf or in the case of the death of the claimant, any member of his family or an inspector may, without prejudice to any other mode of recovery, make an application to the competent authority for computation of the dues of the claimant: Provided that every such application shall be presented within six months from the date on which the dues become payable: Provided further that an application may be entertained by the competent authority after the expiry of the said period of six months if it is satisfied that the claimant was prevented by sufficient cause from making the application in time. (3) When any application under sub-section (2) is entertained, the competent authority shall, after giving the concerned parties and such other persons as it considers to be interested a reasonable opportunity of being heard and after making such further enquiry as it may consider necessary, compute the dues of the claimant. (4) If the competent authority, while hearing an application under this section, is satisfied that the application is either malicious or vexatious, it may direct that a penalty not exceeding Rs. 50 be paid to the person against whom the claim is made by the person presenting the application. (5) Any amount due to the claimant as computed by the competent authority may be recovered- (a) if the competent authority is a Magistrate, by it as if it were a fine imposed by it as a Magistrate; or (b) if the competent authority is not a Magistrate, by the issue of a certificate by it for that amount to the Collector, and the Collector shall proceed to recover that amount in the same manner as an arrear of public demand. (6) All orders made under this section shall be final and shall not be liable to be challenged in any Court. (7) Every competent authority appointed under sub-section (1) shall have the same powers as are vested in a Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 when trying a suit in respect of- (a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of witnesses and examining them on oath; (b) requiring the discovery and production of documents; (c) receiving evidence on affidavit; and (d) such other matters as may be prescribed. (8) Every competent authority shall be deemed to be a Civil Court for the purposes of section 195 and Chapter XXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.