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15. This Court had an occasion to consider whether a weighman employed by a Market Committee constituted under APMC Act is an employee of that committee. After noticing the various provisions of the APMC Act and the rules framed this Court in the case of Raghunath and Ors. v. State of Karnataka and Ors. has held as under:

Having regard to the functions of the Weighman as a market functionary, as envisaged and enumerated in the Act and the Rules, it cannot be said that the relationship between the Market Committee and a Weighman is that of an employer and employee. He is only a licence holder permitted to carry on a trade/vocation in the market area. In the discharge of some of his functions, he may at best be an agent of the Market Committee. The market functionary has an obligation to pay licence fee to the Market Committee. But there is no obligation on the Market Committee to pay any fee, charge, consideration, remuneration, much less a salary to any market functionary under the Act. When the relationship is not that of employer and employee, the question of the Weighmen requiring the Market Committee to pay a minimum wage to them does not arise.

The petitioners contend that the work of Weighmen is constantly supervised by the Market Committees, that the Market Committees allot the work to them; that apart from the work assigned to them by the respective Market Committees, they cannot operate independently in the market yard; that they are accountable to the Market Committee in regard to their work; that their hours of work and manner of work are regulated by the Market Committees; and that therefore there is a relationship of employer and employee between the Market Committee and the Weighmen and such relationship ought to have been recognised, if not for the purpose of other enactments, but at least for the purpose of applying the minimum wages to such Weighmen. It should however be remembers that the supervision, control and regulation, which is referred to by the petitioner is applicable not only to Weighmen, but all categories of market functionaries. The Market Committees are statutory Authorities established for supervising, controlling and regulating the marketing and merely because the Market Committee exercises supervisory control over the Weighmen, it cannot be said that the same would result in relationship of employer and employee. Having regard to the provisions of the Act and the Rules, Weighmen are licensed market functionaries discharging the functions specified in the Act, Rules and the respective Bye-laws of the Market Committee, and it is not possible to hold that the Weighmen have any position or stands other than licensed market functionaries.