Santoshilal vs Municipal Corporation, Gwalior

P.R. Sharma, J.—The applicant Santoshilal, who is the President of the Mandi Committee Morar, was convicted by the Municipal Magistrate Gwalior under S. 47 (a) of the Madhya Bharat Shops and Establishments Act, Samvat 2009 (No. VII of 1952) and sentenced to pay a fine of Rs. 10 or in default of payment of fine to undergo simple imprisonment for 5 days. A revision application preferred by him against his conviction and sentence was dismissed by the Third Addl. Sessions Judge Gwalior. He has now come up in revision before this Court.

A notice was issued to the petitioner on 11-3-1958 by the Inspector of Shops and Establishments Municipal Corporation Gwalior that the Mandi Committee of which the petitioner is the Chairman, should be registered under S. 7 (1) of the Madhya Bharat Shops and Establishments Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act). The petitioner in his reply contended that the Mandi Committee was not a ''commercial establishment'' and was as such under no obligation to get itself registered u/s. 7(1) of the Act. The petitioner was thereupon prosecuted and tried u/s 47 (a) of the Act with the result already noted above.

Two contentions were raised by the learned counsel for the applicant before me in support of this petition. Firstly that the Mandi Committee Morar cannot be said to be a ''commercial establishment'' within the meaning of S. 2 (4) of the Act No. VII of 1952, and secondly that the Inspector who launched the proceedings having not been appointed under S. 43(1) of the Act by a ''local authority'' ''had no authority to take action in this matter. ''Local authority'' has been defined under S. 2 (16) of the Act to mean a Municipality constituted under the Municipal Act in force for the time being. The Municipal Corporation Gwalior having not been constituted under the Municipal Act could not, according to the learned counsel, be deemed to be a local authority so as to be able to exercise the power of appointing an Inspector under S. 43(1) of the Act.

Section 2 (4) of the Act defines a ''commercial establishment'' as under:-

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 or profession and includes a society registered under the Societies Registration Act in force for the time being, and a charitable or other trust, whether registered or not, which carries on any business trade or profession or work in connection with or incidental or ancillary thereto but does not include a factory, shop residential hotel restaurant, eating house, theatre or other place of public amusement or entertainment.

Since the Market Committee does not carry on any business, trade or profession it has to be determined whether the functions of the Mandi Committee are of such a nature as to involve the doing of any work in connection with or incidental or ancillary to any business, trade, or profession. The Mandi Committee Morar was constituted under S. 3 and subsection (1) of Section 4 of the M. B. Agricultural Produce Market Act, Samvat 2009.

The primary object of the Madhya Bharat Agricultural Produce Market Act, Samvat 2009 is to see that agriculturist who takes his produce to the markets gets a fair deal. Its object is to establish equity in the bargaining power between the agriculturists and the merchants and the prevention of malpractices with a view to give a fair deal to the farmers. With a view to regulate the purchase and sale of agricultural produce, the State Government has power under S. 4 (1) of Act No XVII of 1952 to declare a market area, wherein the market committee constituted under S. 6 of the Act shall exercise control on the purchase and sale of specified agricultural produce Such a representative body constituted under an enactment for excercising certain statutory powers cannot be said to be an establishment which carries on business, trade or profession. The words "any work in connection with or incidental or ancillary to any business, trade or profession" will in my opinion apply only to such works as is done with object of earning a profit, or for a mercenary motive. The market Committee is no doubt authorized under S. 11 of the M. B. Agricultural produce Market Committee have to be paid into the Market Committee fund out of which monies can be expended only for the purpose mentioned in S. 12 or 13 of that Act. The work done by the Market Committee cannot, therefore, be said to have connection with or to be incidental or ancillary to any business, trade or profession. It is therefore, not a commercial establishment'' with in the meaning of S. 2(4) of the Madhya Bharat Shopa and Establishments Act, Samvat 2009; or can it be said to be an establishment within the meaning of CI. (8) of S. 2 of the Act. Since the Market Committee cannot be said to be running a shop, residential hotel, restaurant, eating house, theatre or any place of public amusement or entertainment. The provisions of S. 7(1) of the Act can apply only to the employer of an ''establishment'' as defined in Clause (8) of S. 2 of the Act. Since the mandi committee Morar is not an establishment within the meaning of Sec 2.(8) of the Act it was under no obligation under S 7(1) of the Act to send any statement as provided therein In view of this decision it becomes unnecessary further to decide whether the Inspector who launched the present proceedings had authority to do so.

The result is that this revision application is allowed, the order of conviction and sentence passed by the trial Court is set aside and the petitioner is acquitted of the offence under S. 47 (a) of the Madhya Bharat Shops and Establishments Act, Samvat 2009.