TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1971 (4) TMI 102
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....missed. Certificates under Article. 133 (i) (b) of the Constitution were secured by the appellant in almost all the cases but. the present is the only appeal which now survives, all the rest having been dismissed for non-prosecution. The writ, petition of the respondent was dismissed which means that the final order made by the High, Court was in favour of the appellant. The only grievance raised by the appellant's learned counsel in this court was that the High- Court bad in the course of its judgment expressed the view that Clause (a),and (b)of sub-section (3) of Section I of the Act do not cover casual labour and since this expression of opinion which he considers to be legally erroneous would be binding on the appellant in administering the Act, it was necessary to have the correct legal position enunciated by this Court. According to the appellant's learned counsel the following passages in the judgment of the High Court clearly bring out the arguments both for and against the legal position canvassed by him:-- "We have next reconsider whether clauses (a) and (b) of Section 1(3) are wide enough to cover casual labour.the work of an establishment even for a day or....
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....s decision was also cited in the High Court as an unreported judgment) and pressed us to uphold the reasoning adopted therein. The question requiring our determination is a very short one. As there is no representation on behalf of the respondent in this Court and, therefore, we do not have the benefit of the respondent's point of 'view we propose to confine ourselves strictly to the (1) [1964] 1 L. L. J. 441 limited question of the scope of clauses (a) and (b) of sub- section (3) of Section I and this judgment is not intended to be considered as expressing any opinion on other controversial aspects. Before considering the relevant provisions of the Act it may be pointed out that according to the respondent's writ petition presented in the High Court in August, 1963, the New Cochin Cafe (treated as a hotel) was started in Ongole town on November 20, 1956 and the respondent usually employed only 18 or 19 persons. In 1961 there was total failure of rains,in the Ongole region and that town was particularly hard hit. The respondent had, to employ two or three persons on contract basis. for supplying water to the hotel. Those persons were engaged from June to September, 1961....
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....hich this Act applies shall continue to be governed by this Act notwithstanding that the number of persons employed therein at any time falls below twenty Provided that where, for a continuous period of not less than one year the number of persons employed therein has been less than, fifteen the employer in relation to such establishment may cease to give effect to the provisions of- this Act and any scheme framed thereunder, with effect from the beginning of the month following the expiry of the said period of one year, but he shall, within one month, of the date, of such cessation, intimate, by. registered post, the. fact thereof to such authority, as may be specified by appropriate Government in this behalf." The original Act was applicable to establishments which were factories engaged in the six industries specified in Schedule 1 but as a result of persistent demands for extension of provident fund benefits to all industrial workers, the Act was amended' in 1956 by Act 94 of 1950 so as to enable its extension ,to other establishments as well. .,Earlier, it may be pointed out, it was amended in 1953. It is unnecessary to give the details of the various amendments. We ....
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....ts from the operation of this Act for such period as may be specified in the notification." Section 17 invests in the appropriate Government power to exempt certain establishments from the operation of all or any of the provisions of any scheme. Section 19-A vests in the Central Government power to remove difficulties by making necessary provision or giving directions not inconsistent :with the provisions of the Act. The order of the Central Government made under Section 19-A for removing doubts and difficulties is clothed with finality. The narrow question which directly arises for our conside- ration is whether Clause (b) of sub-section (3) of Section 1 when it speaks of the establishment employing 20 or more persons means that the person so employed may be employed by the establishment for any purpose whatsoever and for however short a duration or that the employment must be for some minimum period in the establishment. The language used in the clause does not give any clear indication., We have, therefore, to construe this word in the light of the legislative, scheme, the object and purpose of enacting this clause and the ultimate effect of adopting one or the other cons....
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....the 'provident fund for the benefit of its regular ,employees, of course, excluding those whose services were utilised for a short while for extinguishing the fire. In this illustration we are assuming that the employees would have no objection to being governed by the Act. This, in our opinion, could never have been the intention of the legislature. Similarly, we find it difficult to impute to the legislature an intention to exclude from the application of the Act an establishment which regularly employs for its general business the required number of persons for a major part of the year, say, for 360 days every year, merely because the ;employment of the required number does not extend to full one year. Both the extreme views, the one canvassed on behalf of the appellant and the other postulated in the observation of the High Court that the required number of persons must continuously work in the establishment for one year, do not conform to the ,scheme and object of the Act and are, therefore, unacceptable. Considering the language of Section 1 (3) (b) in the light of the foregoing discussion it appears to us that employment of a few persons on account of some emergency or ....