E S I C Vs. M B NAGARAJ

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The employees' State Insurance Corporation ("the Corporation") challenges in this appeal preferred under S. 82 (2) of the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 ("the Act") the validity of the order of the Employees' State Insurance Court, Mysore dated 26th November, 1977 made in E.S.I. Application No. 4 of 1974.

(2.) The question raised in this appeal is of considerable importance and It concerns with the liability of the respondent to pay contributions under the Act in respect of persons working in his establishment where he himself has not directly employed twenty or more persons.

(3.) The facts of the case in outline are these: The respondent is a lessee of an establishment called "Premier Studio" (which we will call at "the Studio"). The studio comprises of both moveable and immoveable properties. The immoveable properties consist of certain buildings which belonged to the Premier Insurance Co., Ltd., and they were taken on a long term lease by the Premier Film Corporation Ltd., Mysore. The moveable properties consist of photographing cameras, sound recording machineries and other equipments located in the laboratory where raw films are edited and manufactured for ready commercial exhibitions. The manufacturing process is carried on by the use of electrical power. On June 1, 1969, the entire studio was taken on lease by the respondent on monthly rent of Rs. 10,000. He in turn, lets out on time basis the buildings or the equipments to the producers of films for the purpose of shooting their own pictures. The producers who take on hire the studio floors or the equipments engage their own artists, technical staff and labour force. They record their own music, shoot their own films, and get them ready by developing and editing for cinematographic exhibition. The respondent is not in any way concerned with the persons employed by the producers nor he has any direct or indirect control over the films produced by the producers. He, however, maintains an establishment of his own with seven persons employed to look after the maintenance of the studio and the equipments therein.