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(viii) appointment of Government servants as Secretaries, Assistant Secretaries, Technical Accounts and Audit Staff of market committees to ensure efficient administration and control of markets;

(ix) inquiry or inspection by the Chief Marketing Officer;

(x) supersession of market committee for failure to perform duties."

The aforesaid preamble and Statement of Objects and Reasons clearly disclose the sphere of this Act to be for the regulation of marketing of agricultural produce, establishment of market committee for controlling, trading in specified kind of agricultural produce. It provides for levying of market fees by the market committee. It confers power on the market committee to borrow money. The appointment of Government servants as Secretaries, Assistant Secretaries, Technical Accounts and Audit Staff is to ensure efficient administration and control of markets. In order to strengthen the said objectives Chapter II deals with the establishment of markets, Chapter III with constitution of market committees including provisions for election of its members. The constitution of the committee under Section 11 consists of 11 members out of which one has to be a woman, two persons belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes elected by the agriculturists in the market area, one member to be person other than retail traders, one member to be a representative of co-operative marketing society carrying on business in notified agricultural produce, one member to be representative of agricultural cooperative processing society, one to be an officer not below the rank of Secretary of the concerned market committee nominated by the Director of Agricultural Marketing who has no right to vote and three members to be nominated by the State Government who have right to vote. Chapter IV deals with conduct of business of the market committee, Chapter V refers to staff of the market committee, Chapter VI deals with the powers and duties of market committee. It indicates it is for regulating the trading of agriculture produce within the market area, Chapter VII directly deals with regulation of trading which includes grant of licences, power to cancel and suspend it, Chapter VIII pertains to market fund, Chapter IX refers to special commodities market, Chapter X deals with Mandal Pachayats as agents of market committee, Chapter XI deals with establishment of independent markets and market committees for special commodities. Chapter XII is about penalties, Chapter XIII controls the functioning of the various officers and members including that of market committee and Chapter XIV is miscellaneous which includes provisions for recovering of sums due to the market committee or board etc. After scanning the whole Act and perusing the preamble and Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Act, it reveals that this Act deals with various facets of regulating activities within the market area with respect to the trading in agricultural produce. It includes establishment of various committees including charging of fees for service rendered to the traders of agricultural producers. Any enactment, scheme or project which sponsors helps in the trading activity is one of the State's essential functions towards welfare activities for the benefit of its subject. Such activities can be undertaken even by any non-governmental organisation or a private person, corporate or company. In fact, prior to the abolition of Zamindari, the Hats and Bazars (Markets) held on Zamindar's (Landowner) land, the Zamindar used to charge fees for rendering service for holding such market, by providing land and facilities to the participants of such market. By this it helped producers, sellers and public at large through such trading. This is similar, in a nature and form to what is being done now under the State Act through statutory functionaries. Thus none of these functions could be construed to be sovereign in nature or inalienable in character.

It is true various functionaries under this Act are creature of statute. But creation as such, by itself, cannot confer it the status of performing inalienable functions of the State. The main controlling functions and power is conferred on the market committee whose constitution itself reveals, except one or two rests are all are elected members representing some on other class from the public. In fact, all governmental functions cannot be construed either primary or inalienable sovereign function. Hence even if some of the functionaries under the State Act could be said to be performing sovereign functions of the State Government that by itself would not make the dominant object to be sovereign in nature or take the aforesaid Act out of the purview of the Central Act.

In view of the aforesaid settled legal principle the width of "industry" being of widest amplitude and testing it in the present case, in view of the preamble, Objects and Reasons and the scheme of the Act, the pre-dominant object clearly being regulation and control of trading of agricultural produce, thus appellant-committee including its functionaries cannot be said to be performing functions which are sovereign in character. Most of its functions could be undertaken even by private persons. Thus the appellant would fall within the definition of "industry" under Section 2(j) of the Central Act. In view of this, we uphold that respondent employees are `workman' under the Central Act as held by the Labour Court and confirmed by the High Court. The Labour Court has dealt with each individual cases and came to the conclusion in favour of respondent-employees which has also been confirmed by learned Single Judge and Division Bench of the High Court, which does not call for any interference. Accordingly, the present appeals have no merit and are dismissed. Costs on the parties.