K P POULOSE Vs. ASSISTANT LABOUR OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The revision petitioner is a contractor. He undertook to do two specified items of construction work for Rs. 68 lakhs and Rs. 12 lakhs for the Idikki Hydro Electric Project. The work commenced in March 1972 and is still continuing. The revision petitioner employs daily more than twenty manual labourers for the work. Besides he has also an office, clerks and field staff in connection with the work. For not submitting to the Assistant Labour Officer, pw. 2, a list of Festival Holidays intended for the workers for the year 1973 as required by R.4 of the Kerala Industrial Establishments (National and Festival Holidays) Rules, 1959, the District Magistrate, Ernakulam, convicted him under R.12 of those Rules and sentenced him to pay a fine of Rs. 20/- and in default to undergo simple imprisonment for three days.

(2.) Now these are Rules framed under the Kerala Industrial Establishments (National and Festival Holidays) Act, 47 of 1958, for short, the Kerala Act. That Act was passed to grant national and festival holidays to employees in industrial establishments. Under the Act every employee is entitled to avail of seven national holidays and such number of festival holidays as may be fixed on an understanding between the employers and employees as paid holidays. As regards establishments newly started R.4 provides that the list of festival holidays should be submitted within 30 days. The maximum penalty for violation of this provision is fixed in R.12 as Rs. 50/- fine.

(3.) These provisions are applicable only to industrial establishments. In S.2(e) of the Kerala Act 'industrial establishment' is defined. It reads: