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Meaning of 'grocery' extended

The term 'grocery' would include soft drinks and bottled water, not merely food items, the Supreme Court stated extending the meaning of the word grocery. This interpretation would benefit manual labourers in Maharashtra, as the court has dismissed the appeal, PepsiCo India Holding P Ltd vs Grocery Market & Shops Board, against the Bombay high court judgment. The loaders got only wages and were deprived of provident fund contribution, paid holidays, house rent, workmen's compensation, bonus and other medical benefits. It was to protect such workers that the welfare legislation titled Maharashtra Manual Workers Welfare Act and a scheme were introduced. When the authorities applied the law to PepsiCo, which produces soft drinks like Pepsi, Mirinda, 7 Up and mineral water, it objected to it and moved the Bombay high court. PepsiCo's argument was that the expression grocery would only comprise articles, which are required as daily necessities such as oil and grain in households, and not soft drinks. The high court dismissed the petition stating that "now-a-days, soft drinks are available in the grocery shops and supermarkets. They are items of food and, therefore, they are all grocery items. In all the manufacturing process, loading and unloading activities are carried out, which are the activities of the manual workers." The Supreme Court upheld this view to the benefit of manual workers.

Article referred: http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/tangle-over-withdrawal-of-incentives-116022100751_1.html

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