TMI Blog2009 (1) TMI 899X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... pellant Nos. 2 and 3 herein applied therefor. In terms of the said advertisement, respondent No. 1, which is also a partnership firm of which respondent Nos. 2 and 3 are partners as also several others, applied for allotment of the said country spirit shop. 4. In the select list, the appellant No. 1 was placed at Sl. No. 3 whereas the respondent No. 1 was placed at Sl. No. 1. The candidature of the respondent No. 1 was objected to by the appellants inter alia contending that the respondent Nos. 2 and 3 were not unemployed youth within the meaning of the said advertisement and two locations of the liquor shops proposed by them were not conducive therefor. 5. The District Magistrate, Bankura being a licencing authority directed an enquiry to be held. The Enquiry Officer, in his report, inter alia opined that whereas the respondent No. 2 carried on seasonal business in paddy, Til, potatoes, etc.; the respondent No. 1 carried on business with his brother. As regards, location, it was stated: The proposed site of the country spirit shop is situated within the market place of Chatramore where ladies also frequently visit the spot for shopping. The drunken people will ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... id writ application opining that only a person who was sitting idle would come within the purview of the term unemployed youth and as the respondents had been carrying on business, they did not satisfy the conditions for allotment of country spirit shop. It was directed: I accordingly allow this writ application and set aside the order dated December 9, 2002 issued by the District Magistrate and Collector, Bankura granting licence in favour of the Private respondents as well as the order passed by the Appellate Authority dated July 25, 2003 which affirmed the said order. The licence granted in favour of the Private respondents is hereby quashed. The respondents are directed to take consequential steps for setting the licence for setting up the country spirit shop at Chatramore strictly in accordance with law. Such steps must be completed within one month from the date of communication of this order to Collector and District Magistrate, Bankura. In view of the disposal of the main Writ Petition, the application filed by the respondent Nos. 7 and 8 for vacating the ad-interim order passed in this writ petition, becomes infructuous. The said application is also ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... th' given by the learned Judge by relying on Black's Law Dictionary. The learned Judge possibly fell into an error by not holding that, here the expression 'unemployed youth' must receive a contextual interpretation namely it would mean a person who has not been substantially employed or has not been in any service even though lie is registered as an unemployed youth with the Employment Exchange and as has been so declared by the authorities and also must be within a certain age group. Apart from that there is no other requirement. If the person concerned earns some money for subsistence, he does not go out of the category of unemployed youth if he otherwise fulfils the prescribed conditions. Going by this reasoning, as we must, this Court cannot accept the interpretation given to 'unemployed youth' by the ld. Judge of the Writ Court. As such we feel constrained to take a different view and, set aside the judgment under appeal. 10. Mr. Joydeep Mazumdar, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the appellants, would contend that the Division Bench of the High Court committed a serious error insofar as it failed to take into consideration that the definit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to them in the West Bengal Excise (Selection of New Sites and Grant of License for Retail Sale of Spirit and Certain Other Intoxicants) Rules, 1993 . Clause 3 of the said Order provides that the State Government may reserve any new site or sites for settlement amongst firms or societies formed by unemployed youths under the provisions of any law for the time being in force Explanation appended thereto reads as under: 'Unemployed youth' shall mean any person of or above the age of 21 years but not above 37 years, registered as unemployed in any Employment Exchange in the State of West Bengal and certified to be unemployed by any of the authorities mentioned hereunder in whose jurisdiction such person resides:- (a) Member of Parliament (b) Member of Legislative Assembly (c) Sabhadhipati of a Zilia Parishad (d) Sabhadhipati, Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad; (e) Chairman, Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, (f) Chief Executive Officer of a notified area; (g) Mayor or Commissioner of a Municipal Corporation; (h) Chairman of a Municipality The relevant portion of Clause 5(3) of the said Order reads as under: ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t no guideline had been issued, but, probably no guideline was required to be issued, as the said authorities concerned, keeping in view the legal position, would be presumed to be aware of the financial status as also the fact as to whether they remained unemployed. Furthermore, the said Order does not contemplate that the applicants would be absolutely poor or they would not have any property at all. They were required to establish a business in liquor. They were required to make substantial investment. Their financial capacity was required to be such so as to enable them to carry out the business and furthermore fulfill their obligations both contractual and statutory in terms of the provisions of the Excise Act, the Rules framed thereunder as also the conditions of licence. 20. In the instant case, the Division Bench satisfied itself that the respondents were to be considered as unemployed youth in terms of the aforementioned advertisement. 21. In a situation of this nature, the interpretation clause should be given a contextual meaning. It is not exhaustive. It is trite that when a statutory enactment defines its terms, the same should govern what is proved, author ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... purposes of the Act, must invariably be attached to these words or expressions . In K.V. Muthu v. Angamuthu Ammal [(1997) 2 SCC 53], this Court held: 10. Apparently, it appears that the definition is conclusive as the word means has been used to specify the members, namely, spouse, son, daughter, grandchild or dependant parent, who would constitute the family. Section 2 of the Act in which various terms have been defined, opens with the words in this Act, unless the context otherwise requires which indicates that the definitions, as for example, that of family , which are indicated to be conclusive may not be treated to be conclusive if it was otherwise required by the context. This implies that a definition, like any other word in a statute, has to be read in the light of the context and scheme of the Act as also the object for which the Act was made by the legislature. 11. While interpreting a definition, it has to be borne in mind that the interpretation placed on it should not only be not repugnant to the context, it should also be such as would aid the achievement of the purpose which is sought to be served by the Act. A construction which would defe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ituation where the question arises as to grant of back wages for not being able to gainfully employed, a person living on mere subsistence earning as of necessity is not considered to be gainfully employed. [See Novartis India Ltd. v. State of West Bengal and Ors. [2008 (15) SCALE 470] Keeping in view the interpretative tools required to be used in a case of this nature, we are of the opinion, despite the fact that the respondents had been earning some money, the same would not disentitle them to take part in the selection process for grant of a license in terms of the order. The advertisement in question keeping in view the text and context in which it was issued clearly go to show that for the purpose of applying for grant of a liquor shop, the respondents were qualified having been continuing to be registered in the Employment Exchange and having been granted a certificate in that behalf by the person specified in the advertisement. It is not a case where the word unemployed should be given a literal or even the dictionary meaning. In our view, it is required to be given a purposive meaning; a meaning which is capable of being translated in the action, a meaning whic ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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