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Section 62: Protection against attachment of assets of employer with Government

The Code on Wages, 2019 (Act No. 29 of 2019) • Official Statutory Text & Plain English Practice Guide

Statutory Mandate
Chapter IX: Miscellaneous
Competent Labour Forum
Act No. 29 of 2019
Section 61 All 67 Sections of Code on Wages, 2019 Section 63

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 62

Section 62 of the Code on Wages, 2019 provides for the administrative delegation of powers by the appropriate Government to subordinate officers or authorities via official notification, facilitating decentralized governance while expressly retaining the non-delegable essential legislative function of rule-making under Section 67.

  • Scope of Delegable Authority: The appropriate Government (Central or State) may, by notification in the Official Gazette, direct that any power exercisable by it under the Code shall, in relation to specified matters and subject to prescribed conditions, be exercisable also by designated subordinate officers or authorities.
  • Strict Exclusion of Rule-Making Powers: The section contains an express exception: the power to make rules under Section 67 cannot be delegated. Rule-making remains an exclusive governmental function subject to legislative oversight.
  • Conditions and Limitations on Sub-Delegation: Delegated powers must be exercised strictly within the terms, limitations, and geographical jurisdictions specified in the delegating notification. Any attempt by a delegate to sub-delegate powers or act ultra vires the notification renders the action void.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • In re The Delhi Laws Act, 1912 AIR 1951 SC 332: Landmark Constitution Bench decision establishing the doctrine of non-delegation of essential legislative functions; held that the legislature cannot abdicate its core law-making authority to administrative delegates.
  • B.K. Garad v. Nashik Merchants Coop Bank Ltd. (1984) 2 SCC 50: The Supreme Court held that when a statute authorizes delegation of specific administrative powers, the delegate must act strictly within the four corners of the delegation order.
  • Agricultural Market Committee v. Shalimar Chemical Works Ltd. (1997) 5 SCC 516: The Supreme Court affirmed that an administrative authority cannot delegate its essential statutory powers unless expressly authorized by the parent Act.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

Litigators challenging administrative orders (such as wage exemptions, special appointment of authorities, or territorial inspections) must examine the source notification issued under Section 62. If the subordinate officer acted without a valid delegating notification, or exceeded the conditions stipulated therein, the entire proceeding can be quashed as ultra vires before the High Court under Article 226.

Section 61 All 67 Sections of Code on Wages, 2019 Section 63