GUWAHATI, India, June 17 -- Gauhati High Court issued the following order on May 19:
1. Heard Mr. N. Deka, learned counsel for the petitioners. Also heard Ms. A. Bhattacharyya, learned counsel for the respondent Nos. 2 & 3 and Mr. Rakesh Sarmah, learned Amicus Curiae.
2. By way of this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners are seeking a writ in the nature of certiorari for setting aside and quashing the Award dated 07.06.2014 passed by the learned Industrial Tribunal, Dibrugarh, in Reference Case No.3/2010 (which was published vide a Notification dated 31.07.2014).
3. The brief facts of the case are that the respondent No.3 was an employee of the tea estate owned by the petitioner No.1. In the year 2008, the wife of the respondent No.3 was brought to the Garden Hospital of the said tea estate, where she was given treatment and thereafter was taken to Jorhat Civil Hospital, from where she was referred to Guwahati Medical College and Hospital for treatment. Thereafter, the wife of the respondent No.3 was diagnosed with cancer, and she was taken to a private nursing home in Jorhat, and from there she was taken to Mumbai for treatment. After returning from Mumbai, the respondent No.3 submitted a bill of Rs.2,10,810/- to the petitioner No.2 i.e. the management of the said tea estate for reimbursement. However, the petitioner No.2 declined to reimburse the same. Situated thus, the respondent No.3 raised an industrial dispute, which was referred for adjudication to the Industrial Tribunal, Dibrugarh, in Reference Case No.3/2010. In the aforesaid reference, the learned Industrial Tribunal by order dated 07.06.2014, held that the petitioners are liable to reimburse the subject medical bill of the respondent No.3. Against the aforesaid Award passed by the learned Industrial Tribunal, the present writ petition has been filed.
4. Mr. N. Deka, learned counsel for the petitioners, submits that under the provisions of the Plantations Labour Act, 1951 & The Assam Plantations Labour Rules, 1956 (hereinafter referred to as 'the 1951 Act' and '1956 Rules' respectively), the management is only required to provide medical facilities in the Garden Hospitals as prescribed by the aforesaid Act and Rules and the same does not include treatment of cancer or any such serious diseases. He further submits that the respondent No.3 did not come within the purview of the term 'worker' as per Section 2(k) of the 1951 Act and as such, the reimbursement bill in respect of the medical treatment of the wife of the respondent No.3 is not maintainable. He further submits that, however, the wife of the respondent No.3 was given treatment in the Garden Hospital as a goodwill gesture, and when she could not be treated there, she was taken to Jorhat Civil Hospital, wherefrom she was referred to Guwahati Medical College and Hospital.
5. Per contra, Ms. A. Bhattacharyya, learned counsel for the respondent Nos. 2 and 3, submits that it is the fundamental right of the worker to health and medical aid during service. She further submits that it is imperative for the petitioner tea estate, to protect the health of the workmen and their families and to take all such actions that will promote the health, strength, and vigour of the workmen and their families during the period of employment, and denial thereof amounts to violation of the right of the workman guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. In support of the said submission, she relies upon the following decisions:-
i) Consumer Education & Research Centre and Ors. Vs. Union of India & Ors., reported in (1995) 3 SCC 42;
(ii) Surjit Singh Vs. State of Punjab & Ors., reported in (1996) 2 SCC 336;
(iii) Runu Raj Kumari Phukan Vs. State of Assam & Ors., reported in (2000) 3 GLT 27;
(iv) Soram Nabakumar Vs. State of Manipur & Ors., reported in (2015) 3 GLT(MN) 722;
(v) Samurailatpam Sarojini Devi Vs. State of Manipur & Ors., reported in 2017 2 GLT (MN) 88.
*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/ecourtindiaHC/cases/display_pdf.php?filename=lG6h6ilt3H1fOBr4DLdM9dyGPXJ4%2FpOXMcy8DyDxlobSfkIeiHSgHjfloPP5Mx2I&caseno=WP(C)/5180/2014&cCode=1&cino=GAHC010016182014&state_code=6&appFlag=)
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
