Supreme Court asks Government to defer decision for 2 weeks

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the government to refrain from taking any decisions on the implementation of the recommendations of Majithia Wage Board for journalists and non-journalists. The case is being heard by a bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Deepak Verma asked the government to place before it the copy of the report and asked not to do anything for two weeks. The Center insisted on the implementation of the recommendations during the pendency of the case. Additional Solicitor General Parag Tripathi said that let th government take the decision in the implementation as it is the only media house which has approached the court against the recommendations. The court also asked the Center to supply a copy of the report to ABP Pvt Ltd which has challenged the recommendations of the Wage Board. Advocate Paramananda Pandey,appearing for the journalists and non-journalists, said that the copy of the report should already be there with the newspaper organisations as the recommendations were dependant upon the tripartite agremment between Government, newspapers and unions. The apex court had given a notice in May to the Union Government challenging the recommendations of Majithia Wage Board, without granting any injunction. A petiton filed by ABP Pvt Ltd, prominent publishers of English and Bengali dailies, sought a had sought a declaration that the Wage Board Award and its recommendations submitted to the Government be declared as illegal and arbitrary. The petitioner urged the apex court to declare the constitution of Wage Board as ultra vires and grant an injunction  restraining the Union of India and others from giving any effect to the award and recommendations made therein. However, the apex court issued notice to the Union Government after it was  informed it was not come out with notification for the implementation of the recommendations. The ABP has named the Indian Federation of working Journalists, the National Union of Journalists,the Indian Journalists Union, the All India Newspaper Employees  Federation, the National Federation of Newspaper Employees as respondents. Reported by        AR