- (1.)Leave is granted.
(2.)The appellant M/s Saraswath Films is the lessee of the cinema hall named 'padma Movie House' at Ernakulam owned by Mr. A. L. Sreenivasa Shenoy. The controversy raised in the case relates to the point whether the establishment is covered under the Employees State Insurance Act, 1948. Served with the demand of contribution the appellants approached the Employees' insurance Court seeking a declaration that its establishment is not covered under the Act since the number of employees employed therein are only 14. In that connection a dispute arose whether two security guards working on the premises could be considered as employees of the appellant. The case of the appellant was that the security guards were not to be included as employees of the establishment for the purpose of determination of the controversy raised. In support of the plea it was pleaded that the security guards concerned were employees of the agency which used to send two security guards by rotation for duty at the premises of the cinema hall. Since there was no relationship of employer and employee between the appellants and the security guards, they could not be counted as part of the appellant's establishment for the purpose of registration under the Act.
(3.)The insurance court on consideration of the matter held that the security guards were employees of the appellant's establishment according to the definition in section 2 (9) of the Employees' State Insurance act (for short 'the Act'). On inclusion of two security guards the number of employees of the establishment stood at 20, and therefore, the establishment was covered under the provisions of the Act. The first appeal filed by the appellants before the High Court assailing the order of the insurance court proved unsuccessful. Hence this appeal.