MADRAS HIGH COURT]
Christian Medical College Vellore Association, Vellore
v
Government of Tamil Nadu and Others
PRABHA SRIDEVAN
26 Jul 2000
BENCH
PRABHA SRIDEVAN & S JAGADEESAN
COMPARATIVE CITATIONS
2001 (1) CLR 266
CASES REFERRED TO
General Manager, Telecom v S. Srinivasan Rao and Others 1997 Indlaw SC 516
Christian Medical College Hospital Employees' Union and Anotherv. Christian Medical College Vellore Association and Others,. (Civil Appeal No. 8818 of 1983) State of Tamil Nadu v Christian Medical College and Others(Special Leave Petition (Civil) Nos. 5523-25 of 1986) 1987 Indlaw SC 28443
Andhra University Etc v Regional Provident Fund Commissioner of Andhra Prafesh and A 1985 Indlaw SC 243
Dr. P. S. S. Sundar Rao (General Superintendent) Christian Medical College and Hospital, Vellore (Now Professor and Head of The Department of Biostatistic of The Christian Medical College) v Inspector of Factories Vellore 1984 Indlaw MAD 50
Christian Medical College Vellore Association (By Secretary) v Government of India (By Secretary, Ministry of Law, Delhi) and Others 1982 Indlaw MAD 188
Corporation of City of Nagpur v Its Employees and Others 1960 Indlaw SC 90
ACTS REFERRED
Minimum Wages Act, 1948[s. 2(g), s. 27]
Societies Registration Act, 1860
Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
Criminal Procedure Code, 1963[s. 482]
Factories Act, 1948
Employees' Provident Funds Act, 1952
CASE NO
Writ Application No. 672 of 1999 and C.M.P. No. 6690 of 1999, decided on July 26, 2000.
KEYWORDS
Labour & Industrial Law
LAWYERS
Sanjay Mohan, Ramasubramaniam, V. Rangaraju
.JUDGMENT TEXT
The Judgment was delivered by PRABHA SRIDEVAN, J. :
Per Prabha Sridevan, J. :-
The question that arises for consideration in this writ appeal is whether the Christian Medical College Hospital attached to The Christian Medical College at Vellore is a "hospital" for the purpose of application of the provisions of Minimum Wages Act, 1948, or is it an "Educational Institution".
The appellant is an Association registered under the Societies Registration Act to establish, maintain and develop the Christian Medical College and Hospital in India, where students shall receive education of the higher quality, in the discipline of medicine. The history of the Medical College and Hospital is the history of what started as a one bed clinic in 1900 by a woman with a vision of Dr. Ida Scudder which grew into a forty bed hospital in two years. Since the founder of this Institution wished to train women doctors in 1906, a nurses training course was started and in 1980, a medical school for women was born. Forty two years after the birth of the one bed clinic came the beginning of the medical college for women. The realisation soon came that since doctors trained in a system of excellence were desperately needed by the whole country, men should be admitted for the first time. Thereafter, the Saga of the one bed clinic has grown and today it is an institution of excellence acknowledged the world over which stakes its claim to be a pioneering institution of our country in the development of certain higher specialities.
In 1989, the State of Tamil Nadu issued G.O. Ms. No. 206, Labour and Employment, dated January 19, 1989 whereby it was notified that,
"Government of Tamil Nadu hereby revises the minimum rates of wages, as specified in column (2) of the Schedule below as payable in respect of each class or classes of employees/workers in respect of the employment in hospitals and nursing homes (other than Government and Employees' State Insurance Hospitals and Dispensaries) in the State of Tamil Nadu specified in the corresponding entries in column (2) thereof, the same having been previously published as required by clause (b) of sub-sec. (1) of Sec. 5 of the said Act."*
This Notification also set out in the Schedule, the minimum rates of wages per month payable to the various classes of employees. Explanation III to the Notification define the word "Hospital". "Hospital" means :
"a building where in-patients are received and treated, but does not include a "Dispensary" which gives medical or surgical aid not treating patients as in-patients and medical dispensation is made for money."*
Pursuant to this Notification, a letter was sent by the Labour Department, Deputy Inspector of Labour to the Director of the Christian Medical College Hospital at Vellore stating that as per the Act, an employer had to maintain registers and forms as prescribed and a visit to the appellant hospital revealed that such registers are not maintained. Therefore, a request was made to the hospital to maintain the register and form and keep it available for inspection. Since inspite of this letter, the registers were not maintained, a letter was issued on August 20, 1989 that if the provisions of Minimum Wages Act are not followed by the hospital action would be taken. To this, the General Superintendent of the Hospital sent a reply on August 21, 1989 bringing to the Respondent's notice that the establishment is a Medical College run by the Christian minority community and the hospital is only attached to the College as part of the said institution. The judgment of the Supreme Court in support of their case is that the Hospital is only a Christian Minority Educational Institution also attached to the Medical College. Therefore, according to the communication sent on behalf of the hospital, the application of Minimum Wages Act did not arise. To this, another letter was sent by the Respondent on September 23, 1989 repeating their stand that action would be taken for non-compliance with the provisions of Minimum Wages Act. A reply was again sent on September 26, 1989 reiterating their claim to be an educational institution. There were further exchanges of letters resulting in a show cause notice to which the hospital requested the Respondents to grant fifteen days time to give their reply. This communication is dated October 6, 1989. On October 13, 1989, W.P. No. 14276 of 1989 was filed by the appellant praying for a writ of certiorari to quash the order dated July 27, 1989 referred to Board, which called upon the hospital to maintain the registers according to the Act and make them available for inspection. The Petitioner sought to establish that the Minimum Wages Act had no application to the appellant, on the basis of a judgment rendered by a Division Bench of this Court in Christian Medical College, Vellore Association by Secretary v. Government of India by Secretary, Ministry of Labour, Delhi, 1982 Indlaw MAD 188 (Mad. DB) a writ that arose out of an industrial dispute in respect of non-employment of three employees. The Division Bench after a detailed discussion held that the Christian Medical College Hospital
"which is attached to the Christian Medical College is an educational institution"*
and then allowed the writ appeal on the ground that the Industrial Disputes Act would not apply to this institution. Against this, an S.L.P. was preferred. The judgment of the Supreme Court reported in Christian Medical College Hospital Employees' Union and Anr. v. Christian Medical College, Vellore Association 1987 Indlaw SC 592 : 1987 Indlaw SC 592 : 1987 Indlaw SC 592, set aside the order of this Court and held that the educational institution was subject to the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act. However, the Supreme Court did not disturb the finding of this Court that the hospital was an educational institution. This was the basis on which the case of the appellant rests.The Learned Single Judge dismissed the Writ Petition holding that even though the hospital is attached to the college, it does not cease to be hospital and when the inclusion of hospital and nursing homes in the schedule as per section 27 of the Act remains unchallenged, the application of the provisions of Minimum Wages Act cannot be resisted. The Learned Single Judge also held that socially beneficial legislation have to be interpreted liberally and thus dismissed the Writ Petition. Aggrieved by this, the writ appeal.
The Learned Counsel, Mr. Sanjay Mohan, appearing for the appellant took us at great length through the judgment of the Division Bench of this Court in Christian Medical College, Vellore Association by Secretary v. Government of India, (supra). According to him, the College and Hospital are one educational institution. The University Regulations require that a Medical College and College of Nursing should have a hospital attached to them because practical training is an essential requirement for every medical student and a nursing student. Therefore, according to the Learned Counsel, many of the doctors or surgeons who are in the hospital are actually part-time lecturers in the college. Therefore, though the Christian Medical College Hospital at Vellore is a hospital, it is actually an educational institution and hence the provisions of Minimum Wages Act will not apply. He referred to the following paragraph of the same judgment :
"It may be there are other employees like sweepers, cooks, stenographers, clerks, cashiers, technicians, accountants, ward attenders, electricians, etc. who may be termed as lay assistants but since it is the co-ordinative effort of all concerned that makes the institution as a teaching hospital, the employment of such persons would not in any way affect the institution being an educational institution ...For the foregoing reasons we are of the view that the Christian Medical College Hospital which is attached to the Christian Medical College is an educational institution."*
The judgment of the Supreme Court which, reversed the decision of this Court regards the applicability of the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, however left the finding as regards the function of the hospital being an educational institution untouched. For this, he referred to the decision of the Supreme Court in Christian Medical College Hospital Employees Union v. Christian Medical College, Vellore Association (Supra), where the Supreme Court held that the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act are applicable to College and Hospital at Vellore. Therefore, according to the Learned Counsel for the appellant, the hospital is only an educational institution and does not fall within the terms hospital and nursing home as specified in the Schedule as per Section 27 of the Act.
The Learned Counsel said such piecemeal application of the various industrial legislations to such institution would adversely affect the institution, and if the laundry, the canteen, the department which manufactures prosthetic limbs were to be separated and treated as distinct units they would be subject to the provisions of different Acts resulting not only in chaos but also extreme difficulty in the administration of the institution as a whole.
He also submitted that the test in such cases would be the predominant functions of the institution. If the predominant function of the institution is to impart medical education, then the activity that is carried on in the hospital and nursing home is only subject to the predominant activity and in this case imparting education is the predominant activity and therefore, it cannot be treated as a hospital alone for the purpose of the Act. He referred to a decision in the Corporation of the City of Nagpur v. Its Employees 1960 Indlaw SC 90 = 1960 Indlaw SC 90 to support his case regarding the predominant function of the department.He also referred to the decision reported in General Manager, Telecom v. Srinivasa Rao 1997 Indlaw SC 516 : 1997 Indlaw SC 516, where the Supreme Court again considered the dominant nature test.
He then referred to a judgment in Dr. P. S. S. Sundar Rao v. Inspector of Factories, Vellore 1984 Indlaw MAD 50 (Mad.) rendered by a Learned Single Judge of this Court in a petition under Section 482 of Criminal Procedure Code arising under the Factories Act. In that case also the Petitioner was Christian Medical College and Hospital at Vellore and the question arose whether the laundry attached to the Medical College and Hospital can be separated from the main institution, viz., the hospital to attract the provisions of the Factories Act. The Learned Single Judge said 'No'. He held that the paramount or the primary character of the main institution alone has to be taken into consideration.
The Learned Counsel for the appellant therefore contended that the issue regarding the appellant being an educational institution has already been settled and the finding of this Court has been confirmed by the Supreme Court and therefore, now the Respondents could not invoke the provisions of Minimum Wages Act against the hospital treating it as just a hospital when in fact it was an educational institution.
The learned Government Advocate appearing on behalf of the Respondents 1 to 3 submitted that the Act clearly stipulated that it applies to employment in hospitals and nursing homes other than Government and E.S.I. Hospitals and Dispensaries. If the State had intended that hospitals which are attached to Colleges had to be exempted on the ground that they would not come under the purview of the said Act, then necessary exclusion would have been made. When the Act only excludes two categories of hospitals, the appellant cannot be heard to say that the Act shall not apply to it.The Learned Government Advocate also stated that when the Government had power to apply the provisions of the Act to any classes of employee then unless this power is challenged the appellant cannot say that the Act cannot apply to the Christian Medical College Hospital.
We have heard the rival contentions made on behalf of both the parties. The Christian Medical College Hospital has acquired an excellent reputation amongst the general public for the treatment of various illness and problems including terminal diseases. No doubt practical training in a hospital stipulated as an essential requirement of training of students by the Indian Medical Council and Indian Nursing Council. The issue is whether the Christian Medical College Hospital is only an educational institution and not a hospital. The judgment relied on by the Learned Counsel for the appellant in support of his case in fact categorically holds that the Christian Medical College Hospital is a teaching hospital.
A reading of the Minimum Wages Act shows that the Act provides for fixing minimum rate of wages in certain employment. What are those employments can be seen from a reading of the schedule appended to the Act. Section 2(g) of the Act defines employment which means employment specified in the Schedule or any process or branch of work forming part thereof. Section 27 of the Act gives power to the State Government to add to the schedule, by Notification any employment in respect of which, it is of the opinion, that minimum rate of wages should be fixed under the Act. The Act also provides for exemption and exception by the appropriate Government so if in its opinion, the provisions of the Act shall not apply to all or any class of employees employed in any schedule employment or any locality, where there is carried on a schedule employment, the same shall be exempted. Employment in hospital and nursing home was included in the schedule by G.O. Ms. No. 1561 dated December 8, 1978. The G.O., referred to above by the counsel for the appellant only revised the minimum rate of wages which was payable to the class or classes of employees and workers in respect of employment in hospitals and nursing homes (other than Government and Employees' State Insurance Hospitals and Dispensaries). The explanation referred to earlier also defines hospital only to mean a building where in-patients are received and treated and nursing home as an establishment where persons suffering from illness, injury or infirmity, whether of body or mind are usually received and accommodated for the purposes of nursing and treatment. Therefore, if the Christian Medical College Hospital and Nursing Home are buildings or establishments where the aforesaid activities are carried on they would be hospitals and nursing homes for the purpose of the Act. The Learned Counsel for the appellant Mr. Sanjay Mohan said that in actual fact the Christian Medical Hospital pays wages at rate much higher than the minimum wages. Therefore, he was challenging the impugned order only because the Act requires the maintenance of registers and certain other forms and the failure to do so would result in penalties being imposed on the employer. The fact that the hospital is paying wages at a much higher rate than the minimum wages cannot be taken into consideration for deciding this issue because Explanation V of G.O. Ms. No. 206, dated January 19, 1989 states that wherever the existing wages are higher than the minimum wages fixed herein, the same shall be continued to be paid.If the appellant wanted to be excluded from the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act, they ought to have challenged the exclusion of only the Government and Employees' State Insurance Hospitals and Dispensaries and sought for exclusion of teaching hospitals also on the ground that when hospitals are established to provide the practical training to the students in the Medical College those hospitals should be treated only as educational institutions and not as mere hospitals. The appellant have not challenged the inclusion of hospital and nursing home in the Schedule, to the Minimum Wages Act. The Learned Single Judge has rightly held that :
"the schedule of employment including the hospital has not made exception to teaching hospital attached to Medical College or any hospital attached to any educational institution, so long as the scheduled employment in relation to hospitals is not challenged. The challenge in the impugned letter in the Writ Petition cannot be sustained."*
Therefore the finding of the Division Bench of this Court that the hospital is an educational institution cannot be called in aid to support the appellants' case here. The judgment of the Learned Single Judge quashing the proceedings under Section 482 of the Act is also not applicable to this case. There the laundry alone was singled out for applying the provisions of Factories Act. The laundry was an adjunct of the hospital where the linen and the other materials to be used in the hospital are to be washed. The laundry did not serve the general public. The activity of the laundry was subject to the main activity which is that of the hospital. The decision is not applicable to this case. The dominant activity test which was sought to be applied by the Learned Counsel for the appellant also cannot be applied to this case because while it cannot be denied that the students of the Christian Medical College do acquire practical training at the hospital, the hospital is also open to the public. Thousands of public from all over the country come to Vellore to the Christian Medical College Hospital because it provides medical service of a high quality of excellence. Therefore, it is truly a teaching hospital and the dominant activity is not imparting education alone.The Learned Counsel for the appellant referred to a tabular column giving the classes of employees employed in the hospital with a comparative table of the Minimum Wages payable as per Government order and the Minimum Wages paid by the appellant. It is apparent that the appellant pays its employees in the service of Christian Medical College and Hospital who are exclusively employee of the hospitals. The Learned Counsel for the appellant said that some of the surgeons in the hospital are part-time lecturers and the gardeners and sweepers may quite often interchange between the hospitals and colleges, therefore to treat the hospital as distinct from the college would not be proper. But most of the employees listed in this statement furnished by the appellant show that they cannot be transferred to the college as claimed by the Learned Counsel for the appellant. For instance, the staff nurses, the physiotherapist, the nursing superintendent, the dietician, the nursing orderly, the radiographer etc. are all employees who are clearly hospital employees. The fact that some of the surgeons or the doctors are part-time lecturers, cannot sustain the claim of the Learned Counsel for the appellant that the employees are freely interchangeable. The Learned Single Judge in his judgment referred to the decision of the Supreme Court in 1985 Indlaw SC 243, to hold that when an establishment which is a factory engaged in an industry specified in Schedule I of the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act will be liable for coverage under the Act and it was not possible to exclude merely because it is part of a larger organisation carrying on some activity which may not fall within the scope of the Act. The Supreme Court stressed in the decision that while interpreting social welfare legislation the Courts cannot adopt a narrow interpretation to defeat the purposes of the Act.The reasoning of the Learned Single Judge, in our opinion is quite correct. As already stated, the fact that the University Regulations stipulate the inclusion of practical training as part of the educational requirement of medical students does not in any way make the Christian Medical College Hospital any less a Hospital. The employment in hospitals and nursing homes is a scheduled employment regardless of whether the are run by individuals or charitable institutions or minority institutions or created for imparting practical training to medical students. The inclusion of hospitals and nursing homes in the schedule has not been challenged yet and therefore it is not for this Court to hold that a teaching hospital is not a hospital for the purpose of Minimum Wages Act. The Learned Single Judge has considered all these factors in detail and has rightly dismissed the Writ Petition.
The Judgment of the Learned Single Judge does not warrant any interference in the writ appeal and therefore the writ appeal is dismissed. No order as to costs. Consequently, the connected C.M.P. is closed.