The term 'repair' under the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 includes activities such as spray painting of automobiles, and the conjunction 'and' in the relevant entry should be interpreted as 'or' to avoid frustrating the Act's object.

1. The Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, Act 19 of 1952, applies to every establishment which is a factory engaged in 'Automobile repairing and servicing industry". The appellant. "The Jaya Spray Painting Works" is engaged in spray painting of automobiles and disputed his liability to be covered under the Act. The Central Government was therefore moved under S.19-A of the Act. and an order dated 24-6-1982 (Ext. P6) was passed rejecting the appellant's contentions and upholding the department's stand that the appellant's factory was liable to be covered under the Act. The reasons given by the Government alone require examination. They are these:

"The dictionary meaning of the word "repair" is to mend, to restore, refresh and revivify, restoration after injury or decay. Spray painting is one of the operations involved in repairing automobiles which are worn out by age or are damaged by accidents. Therefore, I bold that the activity of spray painting of cars, vans etc., falls under the head "Automobile repairing".

"The E. P. F. & M. P. Act being a piece of welfare legislation, a beneficial construction will have to be adopted to effectuate its object and advance the cause of social justice. The establishment has been covered under the head "Automobile repairing and Servicing Industry". In order to carry out the intention of the legislature it will be necessary to read the word "and" as, "or", a disjunctive It will suffice if the establishment is engaged in Automobile repairing or servicing. If the language were not so modified to meet this intention, a contrary result will follow and this would be clear on a scrutiny of the various entries listed in Schedule-I."

2. The appellant unsuccessfully challenged this order in a writ petition under Art.226 of the Constitution and aggrieved thereby, filed this appeal.

3. It has been found as a fact by the Central Government that the appellant is engaged in spray painting of automobiles. The question for our decision is whether painting an automobile can be considered as repair within its ordinary meaning. No direct decision on this point by any of our courts has been brought to our notice and necessarily we have to refer to the dictionaries and the decisions of other courts.

4. In Webster's Third New International Dictionary "Repair" means "to restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken; fix. mend; to restore to a sound or healthy state; renew; revivify; the relative condition with respect to soundness or need of repairing (the car is in reasonably good repair; the building is in poor repair)"

"Repairs" (p1) "The portion of maintenance charges expended to keep fixed assets in adequate and efficient operating condition and recorded in the books as expense".

5. In the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary

"Repair" the act of restoring to a sound or unimpaired condition; the process by which this is accomplished; the result attained. Restoration of some material thing or structure by the renewal of decayed or worn out parts, by re-fixing what has become loose or detached; the result of this, to renew; to renovate (some thing or part); to restore to a fresh or sound condition by making up in someway for previous loss, waste, decay or exhaustion."

6. In one of the earliest decisions decided as early as March 18,1899. in Wood v. Walsh and Sons (1899) 1 QB 1009) the question arose in a case of compensation under the English Workmen's Compensation Act, 1897. The deceased was engaged in painting the outside of a shop; he was standing on a ladder which was resting against a wall. He stood on a rung of the ladder: the rung broke and the man was killed by the fall. Compensation could be claimed only if the deceased was employed in or about any building which was being constructed or repaired. Smith L. J. held thus:

"In other words, is painting the outside of a house to be considered as construction or repair within the ordinary meaning of tho