K. Venkataswami, J. - (1.) These two appeals arise out of an order dated 9-12-1994 of the Kerala High Court in Writ Appeal No. 664/91 and O.P. No. 7523/89. The questions that arose for consideration before the High Court in Writ Appeal No. 664/91 were (a) whether the Food Corporation of India (for short 'FCI'), the appellant herein, for the purposes of application of the provisions of the Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 (hereinafter referred to as the "Act") would be an 'establishment' and (b) whether 31 headload workers (workers in question for short) engaged by the Contractor in loading and unloading operation at Kuttipuram Railway Station would be regarded as 'employees' of the FCI within the meaning of Section 2(f) of the Act and consequently liable to remit the contributions required under the Act. The latter question alone was agitated before us.
(2.) The question for consideration before the Kerala High Court in O.P. No. 7523/89 was whether the Contractor (petitioner in the said O.P.) was entitled to refund of security deposit amounting to Rs. 1,35,000/- with interest at 12% p.a. from the FCI.
(3.) In the view we propose to take, we do not intend to deal with the matters elaborately. As the question of refund of security deposit was inter-related with the question relating to the liability or otherwise of the FCI under the Act as referred to above, the High Court decided the two matters by a common judgment and for the same reason we have also dealt with these two appeals by this common order.;