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(i) a comparative statement showing different facilities available to Bidi Workers under Bidi Workers' Welfare Funds Act, 1976, and Rules, 1978, read with Welfare Schemes for Bidi Workers and their dependents under Employees' State Insurance Act, Provident Fund Act and Rules, thereunder, including Schemes and Maternity Benefit Act.
(ii) a profile of benefits available to Bidi workers and their state of affairs purportedly furnished by Welfare Commissioner and a list of schemes implemented under the Welfare Fund for the Bidi workers;
(iii) copy of letter, dated 15th October, 1999, showing mandatory assistance available to the Bidi workers in case of emergency.

7. The information and documents are placed on record by the petitioner on 30th October, 2004 in order to portray before the Court the position of working conditions of Bidi workers to be far better and superior as compared to the industries to which the Bidi Workers' Welfare Funds Act and Bidi and Cigar Workers (Regulation of Conditions of Service) Act do not apply, and in order to show that the application of Employees' State Insurance Act to the Bidi workers as well as to the employers in the Bidi industry is unjust, improper, arbitrary and unfair.

15. Learned Advocate, Mr. Qazi advanced one more submission in the written submissions and additional synopsis which reads as follows:

II Special Act vis-a-vis General ESI Act, 1948 Special Acts prevail over general Acts. The ESI Act, 1948 is a general Act applicable to factories and establishments of different industries, while Bidi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966 and Bidi Workers Welfare Cess Act, 1976 and Bidi Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1976 are special Acts and as such the benefits under these Acts will prevail over the benefits under the ESI Act, 1948. Moreover by virtue of Section 37(3) of the BCW Act, 1966, the Maternity Benefits Act, 1961 is made applicable to bidi establishments including home workers and as such the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 has to be treated as special Act vis-a-vis the Bidi industry.

(II)(i) Similarly Section 61 of E.S.I. Act, 1948 cannot override the benefits to Bidi workers made available by the Parliament in 1966 by enacting the Bidi and Cigar Workers Conditions of Employment Act, 1965, which is a subsequent piece of Legislation of the Parliament. This Act No. 32 of 1966 received the assent of the President of India on 30-11-1966. This is special Act for Bidi workers.

Section 28 of the Bidi Workers Act (Act No. 32 of 1966) provides for application of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 to industrial premises.