Digri Press Club election Hearing of APNS plea against wage board award adjourned
ISLAMABAD ,January 05,2004: A Supreme Court bench Tuesday adjourned a petition of All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) seeking review of the judgement in newspapers ‘ employees 7th wage board award case till Jan 6 (Thursday).
SC ‘s bench comprising Justice Rana Bhagwan Das and Justice Mian Shakir Ullah Jan took serious notice of the adjournment plea made by the Advocate on Record (AOR) of APNS M. S Khattak.
Justice Das observed “This is no valid ground to seek an adjournment”.SC bench declined to grant adjournment of 2/3 weeks and decided to hear petition tomorrow (Thursday).
Senior Advocate Akram Sheikh counsel for newspapers’ employees opposed adjournment plea and requested the bench to hear the petition as poor employees suffer due to non implementation of the wage board award particularly because of unprecedented price hike.
Since the bench was incomplete as author senior judge Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry couldn’t turn up, hearing was adjourned till Thursday. Earlier AOR Khattak on behalf of senior Advocate Supreme Court Abdul Hafeez Pirzada and Afzal Siddiqui counsels for APNS) prayed the Apex Court to adjourn hearing of their petition seeking review of the judgement in newspapers ‘ employees seventh wage board award case.
Chief Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui fixed the petition for hearing on Tuesday.APNS sought review of the SC judgement of April 8, 2004 dismissing APNS ‘s petition challenging 7th wage board award for the employees.
In its judgement, the SC held that a dispute between employer and employees in terms of the Newspapers’ Employees Wage Board Award Act, 1973 would not give rise to the question of public importance.SC reiterated that question of public importance is one of the essential condition to attract direct jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 184(3) of the Constitution.
SC further held that Raja Muhammad Akram Advocate counsel for newspapers employees cited a good number of judgments from the Indian Jurisdiction to contend that non providing of right of appeal, review or revision in the Act, 1973 cannot be considered a valid reason to struck down the same.
Counsel also cited the judgment on the point that newspaper employees have got an absolute right of life and liberty under Article 9 of the Constitution which is tagged with earning of livelihood and on account of non payment of their wages. Counsel also contended the employer cannot enforce fundamental right enshrined in Article 19 of the Constitution.
Source: Frontier Post
Date:1/5/2005
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