EMPLOYEES STATE INSURANCE Vs. PARK FISHNET PVT LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD learned advocate Mr. Sachin D. Vasavada for appellant Employees State insurance Corporation, learned advocate Mr. Prabhakar Upadhyay for respondent.

(2.) IN this appeal, notice was issued by this court on August 8, 2008 in view of production of Exhibit 23 on record. In this appeal, appellant corporation has challenged order passed by ESI court, Ahmedabad in ESI Application No. 35 of 2002 dated May 30, 2008 wherein ESI Court has allowed application against Corporation while declaring that notice issued by appellant corporation to respondent establishment dated november 6, 2001 is unjust, illegal and contrary to provisions of law and it was also declared that the respondent establishment has made contribution as per law with effect from period on which Act become applicable and for the period prior to that, no contribution is payable by it.

(3.) LEARNED advocate Mr. Vasavada for appellant raised contention that ESI Act is made applicable on March 1, 2001 while issuing notification supplying Code 37/23123/24 to respondent establishment. Short question raised before this Court is that whether ESI corporation is empowered to call for certain details about number of employees working on particular date from respondent establishment under the provisions of ESI Act or not. Submission made by learned advocate Mr. Vasavada is that on the date on which notification was issued by ESI Corporation, esi Act was made applicable to a particular establishment and, therefore, ESI Corporation is empowered to call upon establishment to produce registers and other relevant record of previous year. Learned advocate Mr. Vasavada for appellant has relied upon definition of term 'factory' given in ESI Corporation Act Section 2 (12 ). Therefore, Section 2 (12) of ESI corporation Act is quoted as under: "2 (12) 'factory' means any premises including the premises thereof - (a) whereon ten or more persons are employed or were employed for wages on any day of the preceding twelve months and in any part of which a manufacturing process is being 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 the preceding twelve months, and in any part of which a manufacturing process is being carried on without the aid of power or is ordinarily so cared on but does not include a mine subject to the operation of the Mines Act, 1952 (35 of 1952) or a railway running shed;"