Common parlance test excludes dry brown coconut processing from Fruit and Vegetable Preservation Industry coverage under EPF law.

An entry in a welfare statute must be construed in its ordinary and popular sense, and its scope cannot be enlarged by strained interpretation. Applying common parlance, dry brown coconut is not ordinarily understood as fruit, so an industry engaged in desiccating and processing it does not fall within the entry "Fruit and Vegetable Preservation Industry" in Schedule I of the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952. The coverage order treating the petitioner's unit as covered under that entry was unsustainable, and the writ petition succeeded with the tribunal's order quashed and consequential protection against coercive action.

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Issues: Whether dry brown coconut, and the petitioner's industry engaged in desiccating and processing it, fell within the entry "Fruit and Vegetable Preservation Industry" in Schedule I of the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.

Analysis: The relevant expression had to be understood in its ordinary and popular sense. On that basis, a dry brown coconut is not ordinarily regarded as a fruit in common parlance, and a market consumer would not treat it as fruit. The social welfare character of the Act did not justify a strained construction that would disregard the normal meaning of the entry. The interpretive principle of giving a provision a wide meaning could not be used to rewrite the entry beyond its ordinary content.

Conclusion: The petitioner's industry was not covered by the entry "Fruit and Vegetable Preservation Industry", and the impugned coverage order could not be sustained.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition succeeded and the tribunal's order treating the petitioner as covered under the EPF Act was quashed, with consequential protection against coercive action.

Ratio Decidendi: An entry in a welfare statute must be construed in its ordinary common parlance sense, and coverage cannot be extended by strained interpretation to include goods that are not ordinarily understood to fall within the words used.

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