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REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CIVIL APPEAL NO(S).4613 OF 2013

P.B. NAYAK & ORS. ... APPELLANT(S)

VERSUS

MANAGING DIRECTOR, BHILAI STEEL

PLANT & ORS.

...RESPONDENT(S)

J U D G M E N T

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 & Establishments Act, 1958 (for short,

‘the Act’), came to be set aside. The appellants, along

with certain others, invoked the jurisdiction of the

Digitally signed by

Anita Malhotra

Date: 2021.10.26

15:47:17 IST

Reason:

Signature Not Verified

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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;

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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;

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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