TMI Blog2003 (9) TMI 708X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t Fund Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, hereinafter called as "the said Act". The challenge is on two grounds, namely, that the partner working in the firm cannot be construed as the employee of the firm, and secondly, that the authority erred in misconstruing the amended provision regarding the infancy period in as much as though the firm of the petitioners having been established prior to a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and Ors., reported in 1999 II CLR 426. 3. The Apex Court in Regional Director, Employees State Insurance Corporation, Trichur v. Ramanuja Match Industries, (supra) clearly held that.-- "A partner who belongs to the class of employer cannot rank as employee because he also works for wages for the partnership, Undoubtedly the term employee is the co-relative of employer. In common parl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the benefit of the establishments and the establishments are entitled to continue to enjoy such infancy benefit for the period for which it was granted to them from the date of commencement of such establishment, and the amendment brought about to the statutory provision reducing the period of infancy during the subsistence of the said period of infancy in case of a given undertaking or establishm ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of three years, there was amendment to the Section 16(1)(d) of the said Act whereby the provision regarding the infancy was deleted with effect from 22-9-1997. The amended provision nowhere provides that it would have a retrospective effect so as to deny the benefit of the infancy period to the firms which were already entitled to enjoy the same in terms of the statutory provision in force at the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the result, the petition succeeds. The impugned order is hereby quashed and set aside and the matter is remanded to the authority to decide the same afresh, after hearing the petitioners and bearing in mind the observations made hereinabove. The rule is made absolute accordingly with no order as to costs. 7. All concerned to act on the ordinary copy of this order duly authenticated by the Assoc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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