P.N. Ravindran, J.

1. The Regional Director, Employees State Insurance Corporation, Thrissur and two other officers of the Employees State Insurance Corporation (herein after referred to as "the Corporation" for short) have filed this appeal canvassing the correctness of the order dated 24.3.2009 passed by the Employees Insurance Court, Kozhikkode in E.I.C.No.52 of 1999. By the said order, the Employees Insurance Court held that the respondent is not liable to pay any amount towards contribution for the period from 1.1.1997 to 31.12.1997 pursuant to Ext.P1 series demand notices issued by the Corporation. The brief facts of the case are as follows:

2. The Indian Coffee Workers Co-operative Society Ltd., No.4317, Kannur, the respondent herein, is a co-operative society registered under the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, 1969. It was formed for rehabilitation of retrenched workers of the Coffee Board and is engaged in the business of running restaurants under the name and style Indian Coffee House at different centers in various districts. All the employees of the Indian Coffee Workers Co-operative Society Ltd., are its members and the establishments run by the said society are covered under the provisions of the Employees State Insurance Act, 1948, herein after referred to as "the Act" for short. However it is stated that the employees working in the Mananthavadi branch are not covered under the Act since Manathavadi is not an area to which the applicability of the Act has been extended.

3. By a notification dated 23.12.1996 issued under section 2 (9)(b) of the Act read with rule 50 of the Employees State Insurance (Central Rules), 1950, the Central Government raised the wage limit for coverage of employees from Rs. 3,000/-per mensem to Rs. 6,500/-per mensem, with effect from 1.1.1997. The result was that all employees of the respondent society who were being paid monthly wages up to Rs. 6,500/-become eligible for benefits under the Act. Three employees of the respondent society of whom one was the Convener of a trade union of employees of the respondent society filed O.P.No.3300 of 1997 in this Court challenging the aforesaid notification. The notification was under challenge in O.P.No.570 of 1997 and other connected cases which had already been filed in this Court and were pending. When O.P.No.3300 of 1997 came up for admission hearing before a learned single Judge of this Court on 21.2.1997, it was admitted and an interim order was passed on C.M.P.No.6100 of 1997 staying the operation and implementation of the notification dated 23.12.1996. The order passed by this Court on 21.2.1997 on C.M.P.No.6100 of 1997 in O.P.(MV) No.3300 of 1997 reads as follows:

4. The Secretary of the Indian Coffee Board Workers Co-operative Society Ltd., No.4317, Kannur, the Union of India and the Employees State Insurance Corporation represented by its Regional Director were the respondents in O.P.No.3300 of 1997. O.P.No.570 of 1997 and connected cases including O.P.No.3300 of 1997 were heard and dismissed by a learned single Judge of this Court by judgment delivered on 19.11.1997, relying on the decision of the Apex Court in Employees' State Insurance Corporation v. Kerala State Handloom Development Corporation Employees Union (CITU), Kannur, District Kannur, Kerala & others [1994 (1) SCC 268] and the decision of this Court in Tata Employees Union v. Union of India [1992 (2) KLT 910] wherein a learned single Judge of this Court had upheld the validity of an earlier notification dated 27.3.1992 raising the wage limit from Rs.1,600/-per mensem to Rs.3,000/-per mensem. While dismissing the writ petitions, the learned single Judge of this Court observed as follows:

"No valid grounds are urged before me to quash Ext.P1 notification. Therefore, all these original petitions are dismissed. If any exemption application is pending before the Government, it is for the Government to dispose of the excemption application according to law. The peti