Appeals Nos 491 and 492 of 1965
Appeals by special leave from the order  dated September 17 1963 of the Bombay High Court Nagpur Bench in Letters Patent Appeals Nos 14 and 15 of 1963 93 section V Gupte Solicitor General and I N Shroff for the appellant in CA No 491 of 1965
A G Ratnaparkhi for the appellants in CA No 492 of 1965
Bishan Narain M L Kapur and I section Sawhney for the respondents Nos 1 and 2 in CAs
Nos 491 and 492 of 1965
N Shroff for respondent No 1 in CA No 492 of 1965
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by Bachawat J
The question in issue in these appeals is whether certain employees of the Nagpur Electric Light  Power Co Ltd
am employees within the meaning of section 29 of the 34 of 1948
The company and the employees filed two separate applications before the Employees  Insurance Court under section 75 of the Act for the determination of the question
Their case is that out of the five categories of staff mentioned in appendices 1 to 5 to the company s petition those connected with the receiving station and workshop appendices 1 and 2 were employees within the meaning of section 29 but those connected with the engineering stores and outdoor work meterconsumers and allocation departments and administration appendices 3 4 and 5 were not such employees
The Regional Director Employees State Insurance Corporation contested the applications but he admitted that the workers of the categories mentioned in items 5 to 14 of appendix 4 and items 1 7 and 8 of appendix 5 were not employees within the meaning of section 2 9
The Employees Insurance Court found that those workers and also the workers mentioned in item 12 of appendix 5 were not such employees
The correctness of this finding is not in issue in these appeals and we express no opinion on it
The categories of workers mentioned in appendix 111 items 1 4 in appendix TV and items 2 6 and 9 11 of appendix V are as follows Appendix III Mains Senior  1 assistant engineers 2 supervisors 3 electricians 4 overseers
Mains junior  1 cable jointers 2 mistries 3 sub mistries 4 lineman HTOH mains 5 mains coolies 6 mains coolies temporary 7 wireman temporary 8 sub mistries 9 sub station attendants
Clerical staff  1 clerk to asstt
engineers 2draughtsman 3 mains office peons
Stores department  1 storekeeper 2 assttstorekeeper 3 clerks 4 coolies
94 Motor car staff  1 motor drivers 2 motor cleaners
Mason
Appendix IV Meter senior  junior  1 deputy meter superintendent 2 senior meter mechanic 3 junior meter mechanic 4 meter testers
Appendix V 2 accounts department accountant chief cashier asstt
accountant account clerks
3 Time keeping department  group head clerks 4 Filing department  group head clerks
5 Typing department  steno typists typists
6 Telephone operators
9 Record keeper and daftari
9a Station clerk
10 Motor car staff  mechanic drivers cleaners
11 Menial staff  peons garden malies chowkidars sweepers rejas temporary
 The Employees Insurance Court held that the aforesaid workers were employees within the meaning of section 2 9 of the Act
The company and the employees filed two separate appeals from this decision to the High Court of Bombay Nagpur Bench under section 82 of the Act
Abhayankar J affirmed the finding of the Employees Insurance Court and dismissed the appeals
Letters Patent appeals from his orders were summarily dismissed by a Bench of the High Court
The company and the employees have now preferred two separate appeals to this Court by special leave
The Nagpur Electric Light  Power Co Ltd occupies cer tain premises at Kamptee Road Nagpur where it carries on the work of transforming and transmitting electrical energy Me premises are located within a compound wall
Inside the premises there are several buildings yards and open spaces
The receiving station the workshop the meter testing department the engineers  quarters the general office and stores are in different buildings inside the premises
The company does not generate electricity
It maintains a receiving station inside the premises where it receives electrical energy in bulk from the generating station of the Maharashtra Electricity Board at Khapparkheda
The energy when received is of 11000 volts
From the receiving station the energy is either carried through electric supply lines to a transformer and is stepped down to 3300 volts and is then carried to the sub stations in the city where it is again stepped 95
down to 400 volts by other transformers or is carried from the receiving station to sub stations where it is stepped down directly from 11000 to 400 volts
From the sub stations the energy is transmitted by electric supply lines and distributed to consumers
The first question is whether the company maintains a factory and if so where its factory is located
The applies in the first instance to all factories other than seasonal factories s14 and may be extended to any other establishment or class of establishments industrial commercial agricultural or otherwise s15
212 defines a factory
The relevant part of that section reads  Sec212   factory  means any premises including the precincts thereof whereon twenty or more persons are working or were working 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 but does not include a mine subject to the operation of the Indian Mines Act 1923 or a railway running shed The expressions manufacturing process  and power  shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the  Any premises including the precincts thereof excepting a mine and a railway running shed constitute a factory if 1 20 or more persons are working or were working thereon on any day of the preceding 12 months and 2 in any part thereof a manufacturing process is being carried on with the aid of power
If these two conditions are satisfied the entire premises including the precincts thereof constitute a  factory though the manufacturing process is carried on in only a part of the premises
The premises constituting a factory may be a building or open land or both see Ardeshir H Bhiwaniwala vs The State of Bombay1
Inside the same compound wall there may be two or more premises the premises used in connection with manufacturing processes may constitute a factory and the other premises within the same compound wall may be used for the purposes unconnected with any manufacturing process and may form no part of the factory
Sections 2g and k of the  define power and manufacturing process
They are in these terms  2g
 power  means electrical energy or any other form of energy which is mechanically transmitted and is not generated by human or animal agency 1 96 2k manufacturing process  means any process for i making altering repairing ornamenting finishing packing oiling washing cleaning breaking up demolishing or otherwise treating or adapting any article or substance with a view to its use sale transport delivery or disposal or ii pumping oil wateror sewage or iii generating transforming or transmitting power or iv composing types for printing printing by letter press lithography photogravure or other similar process or book binding v constructing reconstructing repairing refitting finishing or breaking up ships or vessels
 In view of section 2 k iii the process of transforming electrical energy from a high to a low potential and the process of transmitting the energy through supply lines are both manufacturing processes
In a part of the premises occupied by the company the two processes are carried on with the aid of power by means of electrical gadgets and other devices
On the premises more than twenty persons were and are working
No part of the premises is used for purposes unconnected with the manufacturing process The premises therefore constitute a factory within the meaning of section 212 of the 
The High Court said This manufacturing process is carried on by the Company not only in the building called the workshop or the receiving station but over the whole area over which the process of transmission is carried on including the sub stations where electricity is stored and supplied to the consumers by further transmission lines
Thus every part over which this process is carried on will be a factory within the meaning of the 
 We cannot accept this line of reasoning
It seems to us a startling proposition that every inch of the wide area over which the transmission lines are spread is a factory within the meaning of section 212 A factory must occupy a fixed site see Halsbury s Laws of England 3rd ed Vol 71 article 15 p 15
The company s factory has a fixed site
It is located inside the Kamptee Road 97 and its boundaries are fixed by the compound wall of the premises The next question is whether the members of the staff of the categories mentioned in appendix 111 items 1 4 of appendix IV and items 2 6 and 9 11 of appendix V to the company s petition am employees within the meaning of section 29 of the 
It is common case that these workers are employed on remuneration which in the aggregate does not exceed four hundred rupees a month
Section 29 is in these terms  employee  means any person employed for wages in or in connection with the work of a factory or establishment to which this Act applies and i who is directly employed by the principal employer on any work of or incidental or preliminary to or connected with the work of the factory or establishment whether such work is done by the employee in the factory or establishment or elsewhere or ii who is employed by or through an immediate employer on the premises of the factory or establishment or under the supervision of the principal employer or his agent on work which is ordinarily part of the work of the factory or establishment or which is preliminary to the work carried on in or incidental to the purpose of the factory or establishment or iii whose services are temporarily lent or let on hire to the principal employer by the person with whom the person whose services am so lent or let on hire has entered into a contract of service but does not include a any member of the Indian naval military or air forces or b any person employed on a remuneration which in the aggregate exceeds four hundreds rupees a month  The definition of employee in section 29 may be contrasted with that of a worker in section 2 1 of the  which is in these terms 98 worker  means a person employed directly or through any agency whether for wages or not in any manufacturing process or in cleaning any part of the machinery or premises used for a manufacturing process or in any other kind of work incidental to or connected with the manufacturing process or the subject of the manufacturing process It is to be seen that the definition of an employee in the is wider than that of a worker in the 
The object of the is to secure the health safety welfare proper working hours leave and other benefits for workers employed in factories
The benefit of this Act does not extend to field workers working outside the factory see the State of Uttar Pradesh vs M P Singh1
The object of the is to secure sickness maternity disablement and medical benefits to employees of factories and establishments and dependents  benefits to their dependants
The benefit of this Act extends inter alia to the employees mentioned in section 2 9 i whether working inside the factory or establishment or elsewhere
The definition of employee in section 2 9 deals with three classes of employees
We are concerned with the class of employees mentioned in section 2 9 i
The courts below concurrently found and in our opinion rightly that all the workers of the disputed categories are persons employed for wages in or in connection with work of the company s factory and are directly employed by the company on work of or incidental to or connected with the work of the factory
Some of them do the work in the factory and some work elsewhere but they are all employees within the meaning of section 2 9 i
Take the case of the workers mentioned in appendix 111
The assistant engineers supervisors electricians and overseers are engaged in the erection and maintenance of the electricity supply lines connected with transmission of power
The cable jointer mistries linemen coolies and wiremen are employed for inspection of the supply lines digging pits erecting poles for laying distribution mains and service lines
The masons attend to the masonry work of the buildings
The attendants in charge of the sub stations look after the transformation and transmission of power
The motor drivers and cleaners are employed for carrying materials and tower ladders in trucks for maintenance of the supply lines
The clerks draughtsmen and main office peons help the assistant engineers
The store keepers and clerks with The assistance of coolies issue stores to all the departments and keep accounts relating to stock
The deputy meter superinten dent meter mechanics and meter testers mentioned in items 1 to 4 of appendix IV attend to the testing calibration and repairs of 1  99 the meters
Let us now take the case of the staff mentioned in items 2 to 6 and 9 to II of appendix V
The clerks in the accounts time keeping and filing departments are employed to maintain accounts attendance registers muster rolls pay sheets typing filing and dispatching documents required in connection with all the departments including the receiving station and the workshop
The telephone operators attend to the telephone calls for all the departments
The menial staff is required to do mis cellaneous work including the cleaning of the office compound
The motor car staff is employed to look after the cars employed in the administration section
All these employees clerical or otherwise are employed in connection with the work of the factory that is to say in connection with the work of transforming and transmitting electrical power
Some of the employees are clerks they are not engaged in manual labour
But a person doing non manual work can be an employee within the meaning of s  2 9 i if he is employed in connection with work of the factory
The duties of the administrative staff are directly con nected with the work of the factory
The case of the Employees  State Insurance Corporation Bombay vs Raman1 is distinguishable
In that case a company had a factory and an administrative office
The office was situated in a building which was situated within the same compound in which the factory was located
The entire compound was surrounded by one compound wall
It was found that the work of the factory began with the collection of raw materials and ended with the production of finished articles and the work of selling the products was not connected with the work of the factory
The administrative office handled sales of
the products manufactured in the factory as well as goods imported from abroad
The factory and the administrative office maintained separate muster and wage rolls and separate accounts
In these circumstances it was held that the clerks employed in the administrative office whose work consisted mainly of taking down dictations from the manager and other officers and typing out letters were not em ployees within the meaning of section 29
The facts of the present case are entirely different
The company maintains one establishment for its factory
The factory does the work of transforming and transmitting electrical energy
All the workers in question including the clerks and the administrative staff are engaged in connection with this work
None of them is employed in any separate establishment unconnected with the work of the factory
Some of the employees work outside the factory but their duties are connected with the work of the factory
They are therefore employees within the meaning of section 2 9 i
Some are 2 100 employed in the sub stations
It is common case that the stations are not independent factories
The sub stations attendants attend to work which is directly connected with the of the factory at the main station
They are therefore employees within the meaning of section 2 9 i
In the result the appeals are dismissed with costs
One hear fee
GC Appeals dismissed


Summary:
The appellant company carried on the work of transforming And transmitting electrical energy
There was dispute between the company and the respondent whether certain employees of the company like engineers draughtsmen clerks accountants etc
mentioned in Appendices III IV and V of the company s petition before the Employees  Insurance Court were Employees  or not within the meaning of section 29 of the Employees Insurance Act 1948
The Employees Insurance Court held the said workers to be employees under section 29 and this finding was confirmed by the Single Judge as well as the Division Bench of the High Court
The company appealed to this Court by special leave
HELD  i The premises of the company were a factory within the meaning of the Employees State Insurance Act but the High Court was wrong in laying down the proposition that every inch of the area over which the transmission lines were spread was a factory within the meaning of section 212
The company s factory had a fixed site and was located within the compound wall of its premises
96 E H iiAll the employees of the disputed categories clerks or otherwise were employed in connection with the work of the factory that is to say in connection with the work of transforming and transmitting electrical power
Some of the employees were not engaged in manual labour
But a person doing non manual work can be an employee within the meaning of section 29 i if he is employed in connection with the work of the factory
The duties of the administrative staff are directly connected within the work of the factory
99 C G Even those employees who worked outside the factory but whose duties were connected with the work of the factory were employees within the meaning of section 29i
Among such employees were to be included those attending to sub stations of the factory
100 A Ardeshir H Bhiwaniwala vs The State of Bombay 1961 3 SCR542 State of Uttar Pradesh vs M P Singh  and Employees  State Insurance Corporation Bombay vs Raman referred to