JUDGMENT :

K.M. JOSEPH, J.

1. The appellants impugn the Judgment of the High Court rendered in a Writ Petition filed, under Article 226 and 227, by respondents 1 and 2. By the impugned Order, the Order dated 18.01.2002, passed by the Appellate Authority, under Section 58(2) of the Madhya Pradesh Shops and Establishments Act, 1958 (for short ‘the Act’) came to be set aside. The appellants, along with certain others, invoked the jurisdiction of the Appellate Authority under Section 58(2) complaining that their services were terminated illegally by the respondents which complaint was accepted by the Appellate Authority. The Appellate Authority directed the Respondent No. 1 and 2 to reinstate the appellants with full back wages from 15.04.1997 till the date of reinstatement. In the alternative the Respondent No. 1 and 2 were directed to pay compensation to each of the appellants as calculated in the order without reinstatement. It is this order which stands set aside by the High Court. The High Court has found that the Act cannot be made applicable in view of the exemption available under Section 3(j) of the Act.

THE FRAMEWORK OF THE ACT

2. Section 2(8) defines the word Establishment as:

(8) “establishment” means a shop, commercial establishment, residential hotel, restaurant, eating-house, theatre, or other place of public amusement or entertainment to which this Act applies and includes such other establishment of like nature as the Government may, by notification, declare to be an establishment for the purposes of this Act.

3. As can be seen from the said definition, Establishment means the various places it includes. The word commercial establishment is defined in Section 2(4):

(4) “Commercial establishment” means an establishment which carries on any business, trade or profession or any work in connection with, or incidental or ancillary to, any business, trade or profession and includes:-

(a) a society registered or deemed to have been registered under the [Madhya Pradesh Societies Registration Act, 1959 (1 of 1960)] and a charitable or other trust, whether registered or not, which carries on whether for gain or not, any business, trade or profession or work in connection with or incidental or ancillary to such business, trade or profession.

(b) an establishment which carries on the business of advertising, commission agency, forwarding or commercial agency or which is a clerical department of a factory or of any industrial or commercial undertaking.

(c) an insurance company, joint stock company, bank, broker's office and exchange, but does not include a factory, shop, residential hotel, restaurant, eating-house theatre or other place of public amusement or entertainment.

4. It further includes residential hotel. The said expression is defined in Section 2(22):

(22) “residential hotel” means any premises in which a bona-fide business is carried on of supplying for payment lodging or board and lodging to travellers and other members or class of members of the public and includes a residential club.

5. An establishment includes further a restaurant or eating-house and the said words are defined in Section 2(23):

(23) “restaurant or eating-house” means any premises in which it is carried on wholly or principally the business of the supply of meals or refreshments to the public or a class of the public for consumption on the premises and includes a Halwai's shop but does not include a restaurant or a canteen attached to a factory if the persons employed therein are allowed the benefits provided for workers under the Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948).

6. Further the expression shop is defined in Section 2(24):

(24) “shop” means any premises where goods are sold, either by retail or wholesale or both or where services are rendered to customers, and includes an office, a store room, godown, warehouse or workplace, whether in the same premises or otherwise used in connection with such trade or business but does not include a factory, a commercial