Section 20 — Claims.

20. Claims.—(1) The appropriate Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint 
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[any Commissioner for Workmen's Compensation or any officer of the Central Government exercising 

functions as a Labour Commissioner for any region, or any officer of the State Government not below the 

rank of Labour Commissioner or any] other officer with experience as a Judge of a Civil Court or as a 

stipendiary Magistrate to be the Authority to hear and decide for any specified area all claims arising out 

of payment of less than the minimum rates of wages 
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[or in respect of the payment of remuneration for 

days of rest or for work done on such days under clause (b) or clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 13 

or of wages at the overtime rate under section 14,] to employees employed or paid in that area. 

(2) 
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[Where an employee has any claim of the nature referred to in sub-section (1)], the employee 

himself, or any legal practitioner or any official of a registered trade union authorised in writing to act on 

his behalf, or any Inspector, or any person acting with the permission of the Authority appointed under 

sub-section (1), may apply to such Authority for a direction under sub-section (3): 

Provided that every such application shall be presented within six months from the date on which the 

minimum wages 
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[or other amount] became payable: 

Provided further that any application may be admitted after the said period of six months when the 

applicant satisfies the Authority that he had sufficient cause for not making the application within such 

period.  

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[(3) When any application under sub-section (2) is entertained, the Authority shall hear the applicant 

and the employer, or give them an opportunity of being heard, and after such further inquiry, if any, as it 

may consider necessary, may, without prejudice to any other penalty to which the employer may be liable 

under this Act, direct— 

(i) in the case of a claim arising out of payment of less than the minimum rates of wages, the 

payment to the employee of the amount by which the minimum wages payable to him exceed the 

amount actually paid, together with the payment of such compensation as the Authority may think fit, 

not exceeding ten times the amount of such excess; 

(ii) in any other case, the payment of the amount due to the employee, together with the payment 

of such compensation as the Authority may think fit, not exceeding ten rupees,  

and the Authority may direct payment of such compensation in cases where the excess or the amount due 

is paid by the employer to the employee before the disposal of the application.] 

(4) If the Authority hearing any application under this section is satisfied that it was either malicious 

or vexatious, it may direct that a penalty not exceeding fifty rupees be paid to the employer by the person 

presenting the application. 

(5) Any amount directed to be paid under this section may be recovered— 

(a) if the Authority is a Magistrate, by the Authority as if it were a fine imposed by the Authority 

as a Magistrate, or 

(b) if the Authority is not a Magistrate, by any Magistrate to whom the Authority makes 

application in this behalf, as if it were a fine imposed by such Magistrate. 

(6) Every direction of the Authority under this section shall be final. 

(7) Every Authority appointed under sub-section (1) shall have all the powers of a Civil Court under 

the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 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 Chapter XXXV of the Code of 

Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898).  

                                                           
1. Subs. by Act 30 of 1957, s. 12, for “any Commissioner for Workmen’s Compensation or”. 

2.  Ins. by s. 12, ibid.  

3. Subs. by s. 12, ibid., for certain words. 

4. Subs. by s. 12, ibid., for sub-section (3) . 



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