Judgment

Javed Iqbal Wani, J.

MA 7/2021(CM 2776/2021) is segregated from these bunch of appeals and order passed separately.

1. The instant appeals have been filed by the appellants under Section 82 of the Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 (for brevity ‘the Act’) against the orders (for brevity ‘impugned orders’) passed by the Industrial Tribunal/Labour Court, Jammu (for brevity ‘Insurance Court’) in their petitions filed b y the appellants under Section 75 (g) of the Act.

2. The appeals are taken up for final disposal together with the consent of counsel for the parties, in that, common issues /questions are being raised therein these appeals.

3. Before adverting to the grounds of challenge urged by the appellants in the instant appeals, it would be appropriate and advantageous to refer hereunder to various provisions of the Act being relevant herein:-

4. Sub-section 3 of Section 1 of the Act, provides as under:-

(3) It shall come into force on such date or dates as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act and [for different States or for different parts thereof].

Sub-Section 4 of Section 1, provides as under:-

“It shall apply, in the first instance, to all factories (including factories belonging to the [Government]) other than seasonal factories.”

Section 2 (9) defines “employee” and reads as under:-

“employee” means any person employed for wages in or in connection with the work of a factory or establishment to which this Act applies and -

(i) who is directly employed by the principal employer on any work of, or incidental or preliminary to or connected with the work of, the factory or establishment, whether such work is done by the employee in the factory or establishment or elsewhere ; or

(ii) who is employed by or through an immediate employer on the premises of the factory or establishment or under the supervision of the principal employer or his agent on work which is ordinarily part of the work of the factory or establishment or which is preliminary to the work carried on in or incidental to the purpose of the factory or establishment ; or

(iii) whose services are temporarily lent or let on hire to the principal employer by the person with whom the person whose services are so lent or let on hire has entered into a contract of service;

[and includes any person employed for wages on any work connected with the administration of the factory or establishment or any part, department or branch thereof or with the purchase of raw materials for, or the distribution or sale of the products of, the factory or establishment ; [or any person engaged as an apprentice, not being an apprentice engaged under the Apprentices Act, 1961 (52 of 1961), [and includes such person engaged as apprentice whose training period is extended to any length of time] but does not include]

(a) any member of 3 [the Indian] naval, military or air forces ; or

(b) any person so employed whose wages (excluding remuneration for overtime work) exceed 5 [such wages as may be prescribed by the Central Government] :

(c) Provided that an employee whose wages (excluding remuneration for overtime work) exceed 5 [such wages as may be prescribed by the Central Government] at any time after (and not before) the beginning of the contribution period, shall continue to be an employee until the end of that period].

Section 2 (12) defines “factory” as under:-

“factory” means any premises including the precincts thereof:

(a) whereon ten or more persons are employed or were employed on any day of the preceding twelve months, and in any part of which a manufacturing process is being carried on or is ordinarily so carried on with the aid of power or is ordinarily so carried on, or

(b) Whereon twenty or more persons are employed or were employed for wages on any day of t