Advocate's office not treated as a commercial establishment; clerical staff alone does not make the profession commercial.

An Advocate's office is not a commercial establishment under the Bombay Shops and Establishments Act, 1948, because the Act targets premises of a commercial character and the word "commercial" requires activity involving commerce in the ordinary sense. A liberal profession governed by personal skill, professional ethics, fiduciary duties and restrictions on canvassing does not become commercial merely because clerical or ministerial staff are engaged for incidental assistance. On that basis, an Advocate is not an employer within the Act's registration scheme and is not required to register the office under Section 7.

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Issues: Whether the office of an Advocate is a "commercial establishment" under the Bombay Shops and Establishments Act, 1948, and whether an Advocate is an "employer" bound to register the office under the Act.

Analysis: The Act is a social welfare measure regulating hours of work, employment conditions, health, safety, leave and wages in establishments of a commercial character. The definition of "commercial establishment" in Section 2(4) must be read with the statutory scheme and cannot be treated as extending to every premises where any business, trade or profession is carried on. The word "commercial" has real limiting force and points to activity involving commerce in the ordinary sense, namely a venture with some element of capital and risk of profit or loss. An Advocate's practice is a liberal profession governed by statutory and ethical discipline, characterised by personal skill, individual responsibility, fiduciary obligations, prohibition on canvassing and the Advocate's role as an officer of the Court. Clerical or ministerial assistance such as typing, accounting or sweeping does not create the kind of co-operative commercial undertaking contemplated by the Act. On that footing, an Advocate's office is not a commercial establishment, and the Advocate does not answer the statutory description of an employer required to register under Section 7.

Conclusion: The office of an Advocate is not a commercial establishment under the Act, and an Advocate is not liable to register the office as an employer.

Ratio Decidendi: A liberal profession conducted through personal skill and regulated by professional and ethical obligations does not become a commercial establishment merely because clerical staff are employed for incidental assistance.

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