Lawyer's office not a commercial establishment under the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1960

A lawyer's office does not qualify as a commercial establishment under the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1960. The statutory definitions of commercial establishment, establishment and shop were read as covering commercial, industrial, trading, banking, insurance and certain office-based premises, plus notified establishments, but not a legal practice. The Court noted that legal work is neither trade nor business in the statutory sense, clients are not customers for this purpose, and the Act's provisions on registration, working hours, holidays, wages and safety were directed at commercial workplaces rather than professional legal offices.

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Issues: Whether a lawyer's office or the office of a firm of lawyers is a commercial establishment within the meaning of the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1960.

Analysis: The definition of commercial establishment in section 2(4), read with the definitions of establishment and shop in sections 2(8) and 2(15), was construed as covering commercial, industrial, trading, banking, insurance and certain office-based establishments, together with establishments notified by Government. A lawyer's office did not fall within the categories of hotel, restaurant, theatre or notified establishment. It was not a shop, because legal practice is neither trade nor business in the statutory sense, and clients are not customers within that definition. Nor could it be treated as an administrative service merely because employees work in an office. The surrounding provisions on registration, working hours, holidays, wages and safety also showed that the Act was meant for commercial workplaces and not professional legal offices.

Conclusion: A lawyer's office or the office of a firm of lawyers is not a commercial establishment within the meaning of section 2(4) of the Act.

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