L APPEAL No 2029 of 1980 Appeal by Special leave from the judgment and Order dated 603 the 26th July 1970 of the Kerala High Court in WA No 11 of 1978
KRR Pillai for the Appellant
P Govindan Nair EMS Anm MK Dua and Miss Baby Krishnan for Respondents No 1 3  4
For ApplicantInterveners KMKNair for Bar Council Kerala
RC Misra  Vimal Dave for Supreme Court Bar Clerk s Association
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by CHANDRACHUD CJ
The question which arises for consideration in this appeal is whether a firm of lawyers is a commercial establishment  within the meaning of the Kerala Shops and Commercial Establishments Act 1960 referred to herein as the Act 
The appellant V Sasidharan was working as a clerk in a firm of lawyers which is respondent 1 to this appeal
Respondents 2 3 and 4 are partners of the firm
The services of the appellant were terminated by the firm on February 3 1977 whereupon he preferred an appeal to the Appellate Authority under the Act
A preliminary objection was raised in that appeal by the firm on the ground that it was not a commercial establishment
By a judgment dated August 11 1977 the Appellate Authority upheld the preliminary objection and dismissed the appeal
Being aggrieved by that judgment the appellant filed a writ petition OPNo 3380 of 1977 B in the High Court of Kerala
A learned single Judge of the High Court dismissed that writ petition against which the appellant filed Letters Patent appeal WA No 11 of 1978
That appeal was dismissed on July 26 1978
This appeal by special leave is filed against the judgment of the Division Bench of the Kerala High Court
The decision of the question whether respondent 1 firm is a commercial establishment must naturally depend upon the definition of that expression and the definitions of cognate expressions 604 which are contained in the Act
Section 2 4 of the Act defines commercial establishment as follows Commercial establishment  means a commercial or industrial or trading or banking or insurance establishment an establishment or administrative service in which the persons employed are mainly engaged in office work hotel restaurant or boarding or eating house cafe or any other refreshment house a theatre or any other place of public amusement or entertainment and includes such other establishment as the Government may by notification in the Gazette declare to be a commercial establishment for the purposes of this Act but does not include a factory to which all or any of the provisions of the Central Act 63 of 1948 apply
 Section 28 defines establishment to mean a shop or a commercial establishment
Section 2 15 defines shop as follows Shop means any premises where any trade or business is carried on or where services are rendered to customers and includes offices store rooms godowns or warehouses whether in the same premises or otherwise used in connection with such trade or business but does not include a commercial establishment or a shop attached to a factory where the persons employed in the shop are allowed the benefits provided for workers under the Central Act 63 of 1948 It is on the basis of these definitions that we shall have to decide whether the office of a lawyer or of a firm of lawyers is a commercial establishment within the meaning of the Act
The definition contained in section 2 4 may be simplified by restating it in separate clauses as follows 1 Commercial Establishment means five different kinds of establishments commercial industrial trading banking or insurance 2 Commercial Establishment means an establishment or administrative service in which the persons employed are mainly engaged in office work 3 Commercial Establishment means a hotel restaurant boarding or eating house a cafe or any other refreshment house 605 4 Commercial Establishment means a theatre or any other place of public amusement or entertainment and 5 Commercial Establishment includes such other establishment as the Government may by notification in the Gazette declare to be a commercial establishment for the purposes of the Act
Commercial Establishment does not include a factory to which any of the provisions of the apply
A lawyer s office or the office of a firm of lawyers cannot obviously fall under clauses 3 and 4 above
Nor has the Government issued any notification as contemplated by section 2 4
The question thus narrows itself into whether a lawyer s office falls under either of the first two clauses
The expression establishment  is defined by section 28 mean a shop or a commercial establishment
Since by the definition contained in the first clause of Section 24
a commercial establishment means an establishment a place of work cannot be regarded as a commercial establishment unless the activity is conducted in a shop  or in a commercial establishment which is really tautological
The definition of shop  which is contained in section 215 shows that in order that an establishment can be regarded as a shop it is necessary that some trade  or business  must be carried on there or some service must be rendered to customers
The expression shop  also includes offices warehouses store rooms or godowns which are used in connection with the trade or business
It does not require any strong argument to justify the conclusion that the office of a lawyer or of a firm of lawyers is not a shop  within the meaning of section 215
Whatever may the popular conception or misconception regarding the role of to day s lawyers and the alleged narrowing of the gap between a profession on one hand and a trade or business on the other it is trite that traditionally lawyers do not carry on a trade or business nor do they render services to customers 
The context as well the phraseology of the definition in section 215 is inapposite in the case of lawyer s office or the office of a firm of lawyers
Learned counsel for the appellant argues that a lawyer s office is a commercial establishment because persons who are employed in that office are mainly engaged in office work
This 606 argument overlooks that
under the second clause of the definition in section 24 commercial establishment  means an establishment or administrative service in which the persons employed are mainly engaged in office work
Partly we go back to the same question as to whether a lawyer s office is an establishment  within the meaning of the Act
The other aspect which this argument fails to take note of is that a lawyer s office is not an administrative service 
It seems to us doing violence to the language of the second clause of section 24 to hold that a lawyer s office is an administrative service 
This argument has therefore to be rejected
The proposition is well established that words which occur in the same context must take their colour from each other
It is unrealistic to dissect the definition clause in section 24 and to catch a word here or there in order to bring a lawyer s office within the four corners of the definition of commercial establishment 
The various clauses of that definition would show that establishment far apart from professional offices were within the contemplation of the legislature
For these reasons we are of the opinion that the office of a lawyer or of a firm of lawyer is not a commercial establishment  within the meaning of the Act
This conclusion is strengthened by the other provisions of the Act
Chapter I A of the Act provides for registration of establishments Chapter II for hours of work Chapter III for holidays and leave Chapter IV for wages Chapter V for employment of children and women and Chapter VI for health and safety measures
Section 6 of the Act provides that no employee in any establishment shall be required or allowed to work for more than eight hours on any day or for more than 48 hours in any week Section 8 requires that the period or work of an employee in an establishment for each day shall be so fixed that no period shall exceed four hours and that no such person shall work for more than four hours before he has had an interval for rest of at least one hour
Under section 10 no establishment shall on any day be opened earlier than and closed later than such hours as may be fixed by the Government provided that any customer who is being served or is waiting to be served in any establishment at the hour fixed for its closing may be served during a quarter of an hour 607 immediately following such hour
These and other cognate provisions of the Act show that a lawyer s office cannot possibly be comprehended within the meaning of the expression commercial establishment  as defined in section 24 of the Act
We are quite solicitous about the welfare of those who work in the lawyers  offices
But there are many other ways in which their welfare can be ensured
If the current trends are any indication and if old memories fail not the earnings of lawyers  clerks cannot in reality bear reasonable comparison with the earnings of employees of commercial establishments properly so called
They undoubtedly work hard but they do not go without their reward
They come early in the morning and go late at night but that is implicit in the very nature of the duties which they are required to perform and the time they spend is not a profitless pastime
An argument was strongly pressed upon us on the basis of the decision of this Court in Bangalore Water supply and Sewage Board vs A Rajappa1 The High Court has rightly observed that the question which arose in that case was entirely different namely the sweep of the meaning of the word industry 
The ratio of that decision is that term industry  covers any activity which is systematically or habitually undertaken for the production or distribution of goods or for rendering material services to the community at large with the help of employees
The question which arises in this appeal is basically different namely whether a lawyer s office or the office of a firm of lawyers is commercial establishment
Considerations which were germane to the determination of the question in the Bangalore Water Supply case are foreign to the decision of the question before us
In Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry2 case the question was whether the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry is a commercial establishment within the meaning of the Delhi shops and Commercial Establishment Act 1954
This Court pointed out that the definition of commercial establishment  in that Act is so wide that the activities of a registered society or a charitable trust would also fall within the purview of that definition
608 The learned single Judge and the Division Bench of the Kerala High Court have dealt with the questions arising in this appeal with care
We agree with their reasoning and hold that the office of a lawyer or of a firm of lawyers is not a commercial establishment  within the meaning of section 24 of the Act
The Bar Council of Kerala and Clerks Association of the Supreme Court Bar had intervened in this matter
We must express our thankfulness to them for the assistance rendered by them
In the result the appeal is dismissed but there will be no order as to costs
MLA Appeal dismissed


Summary:
The appellant preferred an appeal to the Appellate Authority under the Kerela Shops and Commercial Establishments Act 1960 For short
the Act against his dismissal from service by respondent No 1 a firm of Lawyers
Respondent No 1 raised a preliminary objection that the appeal was not maintainable since Respondent No I firm was not a commercial establishment under the Act
The Appellate Authority upheld the preliminary objection and dismissed the appeal
His writ Petition and Letters Patent Appeal in the High Court against the judgment of the Appellate Authority were also dismissed
Hence this appeal by special leave
Dismissing the appeal  HELD I The question whether respondent No I firm is a commercial establishment must naturally depend upon the definition of that expression and the definition of cognate expressions which are contained in the Act
The definition of commercial establishment contained in sec24 of the Act may be simplified by restating it in separate clauses as follows I Commercial Establishment means five different kinds of establishments commercial industrial trading banking or insurance 2 Commercial Establishment means an establishment or administrative service in which the persons employed are mainly engaged in office work 3 Commercial Establishment means a hotel restaurant boarding or eating house a cafe or any other refreshment house 4 Commercial Establishment means a theater or any other place of public amusement or entertainment and 5 Commercial Establishment includes such other establishment as the Government may by notification in the Gazette
declare to be a commercial establishment for the purposes of the Act
Commercial Establishment does not include a factory to which any of the provisions of the apply Section 28 defines establishment  to mean a shop or a commercial establishment
The definition of shop contained in sec
215 shows that in order that an establishment can be regarded as a shop it is necessary that some trade or business must be carried on there or some service must be rendered to customers 
The expression shop also includes offices warehouses
store rooms or godowns which are used in connection with the trade or business
30H 603H 605A D G
602 2 A lawyer s office or the office of a firm of lawyers cannot obviously fall under clauses 3 and 4 of section 24
Nor has the Government issued any notification as contemplated by section 24
The question thus narrows itself into whether a lawyer s office falls under either of the first two clauses
Since by the definition contained in the first clause of section 24 a commercial establishment means an establishment a place of work cannot be regarded as a commercial establishment unless the activity is conducted in a shop  or in a commercial establishment which is really tautological
Whatever may be the popular conception regarding the role of today s lawyers and the alleged narrowing of the gap between a profession on one hand and a trade or business on the other it is trite that traditionally lawyers do not carry on a trade or business nor do they render services to customers 
The context as well as the phraseology of the definition in section 215 is inapposite in the case of a lawyer s office or the office of a firm of lawyers
Therefore the office of a lawyer or of a firm of lawyers is not a shop within the meaning of sec
215 of the Act
605C F G 3 The argument that a lawyer s office is a commercial establishment because persons who are employed in that office are mainly engaged in office work cannot be sustained
This argument overlooks that i under the second clause of the definition in section 24 commercial establishment  means an establishment or administrative service in which the persons employed are mainly engaged in office work and thus the same question arises again as to whether a lawyer s office is an  establishment  within the meaning of the Act and ii that a lawyer s office is not an administrative service  and it will be doing violence to the language of the second clause of sec
24 to hold that a lawyer s office is an administrative service 
The proposition is well established that words which occur in the same context must take their colour from each other
It is unrealistic to dissect the definition clause in section 24 and to catch a word here or there in order to bring a lawyer s office within the four corners of the definition of commercial establishment 
The various clauses of that definition would show that establishments far apart from professional offices were within the contemplation of the legislature606BtoD 4 Chapters 1 A II
III IV V and VI as also sections 68 10 and other cognate provisions of the Act also strengthen the conclusion that a lawyer s office cannot possibly be comprehended within the meaning of the expression Commercial establishment  as defined in section 24 of the Act
607A B Bangalore Water Supply and Sewage Board vs A Rajappa1978 3 SCR 297 and Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry distinguished