LexCOCHIN SHIPPING CO. ETC. ETC. versus E.S.I. CORPORATION
Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this caseJudgment (excerpt)
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COCHIN SHIPPING CO. ETC. ETC.
A
v.
E.S.I. CORPORATION
AUGUST 19, 1992
[LAUT MOHAN SHARMA, S. MOHAN AND
B
N. VENKATACHALA, JJ.]
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Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948: Sections 1(5) & 75:
Notification extending operation of the Act to Hotels, Restaurants, 'C
Road Motor Transport Establishments, Cinemas and 'Shops"-'Shop'-Con-
notation of- Held establishment carrying on stevedoring, clearing and for-
warding operations at a Port is a 'shop'.
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Interpretation of statutes-Social security legislation-construction of-
Duty of Courr-Should be construed liberally so as to promote the object of ,D
the Act.
Words and Phrases:
'Shop'-Meaning of.
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The Gonrnment of Kerala issued a Notification dated 18.9.1974 E
under Section 1(5) of the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 extending
the provisions of the Act to six kinds of establishments viz. Hotels, Res-
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taurants, Shops, Road Transport Motor Establishments, Cinemas and
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Newspaper Establishments. The appellant Company, carrying on the busi-
ness of clearing and forwarding at the port of Cochin, received notice for F
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payment of its contribution under the Act. Denying its liability to pay, it
filed an application before the Employees' Insurance Court under Section
75 of the Act, contending that the Notification was not applicable to it
because its establishment was not a shop, but the same was dismissed. On
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appeal a DMsion Bench of the High Court held that the establishment of G
the appellant falls within the purview of the term 'shop'.
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In appeals to this Court it was contended on behalf of the appellant
that (1) though 'shop' would take within it other establishments like hotels
or restaurants yet they have come to be specifically mentioned. In view of
that enumeration af other establishment in contradistinction to shops the H
909
;
910
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1992] 3 S.C.R.
A word 'shop' must be held to relate to a place where commercial activity of
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buying and selling merchandise takes place otherwise the enumeration of
other establishment becomes meaningless; (2) in view of the fact that the
notification specifically enumerates the other establishments, ~he inten-
tion has been clearly brought out not to give a wider meaning of the term
B
'shop' as otherwise the term 'shop' itself would be enough to covet other
establishments like hotels, restaurants, cinema etc. From this point of
view, the activity carried on by the appellant merely processing the docu-
ment at the customs clearing house without rendering any service to the
customers at the appellant's office of establishment cannot be said to fall
within the meaning of 'shop'.
c
Dismissing the appeals, this Court
HELD: Per Sharma, I.
In view of the consistent interpretation of the notification which has
D been followed in the country, the question should not be reopened for fresh
consideration. (912-B]
Per Mohan, J. (For Himself and Venkatachala, I.) Concumng:
E
1. The Employee's State Insurance Act is an Act to provide certain
benefits to employees in case of sickness, maternity and employment
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injury and makes provision for certain other matters in relation thereto.
Under Section 1(4), in the first instance, it is made applicable to all
factories. But the Act envisages the extension of benefit to the employees
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in other establishments· or class of establishments, industrial commercial,
"
F
agricultural or otherwise. The extension of benefit is to be done by means
of a notification by the Appropriate Government. Thus the benefits con-
ferred by the Act cover a large area of employees than what the Factories
Act and the akin legislations intended. The conclusion is inescapable that
it is a welfare legislation. The endeavour of Court should be to place a
G liberal construction so as to promote its object. The object is to envelop
as many establishments as possible without leaving any room for doubt.
That is precisely what the Notification intends to do. [915D,E,F, 920-A]
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2. The Notification catalogues six establishments one of which is
'shop'. Merely because other establishments which are akin to shop are
H enumerated, it does not, in any manner, oblige the Court to give a naITow
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COCHIN SHIPPING CO. v. E.S.I. CORPN. [SHARMA, J.)
911
meaning to the word 'shop' nor does it any way dilute the meaning of A
'shop'. The appellant is carrying on stevedoring, clearing and forwarding
operations. Clearing the documents, Excerpt shown. Read the full judgment & AI analysis in Lexace.