Is a letter of the Principal Secretary to the Government a notification granting exemption under Section 9 of the Tamil Nadu Industrial Establishments (Conferment of Permanent Status to Workmen) Act, 1981?

Tamil Nadu Industrial Establishments (Conferment of Permanent Status to Workmen) Act, 1981 — Ss.2(3)(e), 3, 9 — Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Act, 1947 — Ss.2(6), 4(1)(c) — Conferment of permanent status — TASMAC salesmen — Exemption of Government establishments — Letter of the Principal Secretary — Closure of shops — Permanent Status Act, 1981 — S.9 — Exemption — Letter of the Principal Secretary to the Government — Held: A letter of the Principal Secretary to the Government opining that no exemption is required is at most a private opinion of its author; it is not the law of the land, does not bind the Court and is not a notification granting exemption. When the law directs a particular act to be performed in a particular manner, it must be done only in that manner. (¶27, 34) Shops and Establishments Act, 1947 — S.4(1)(c) — Incorporation by reference — Definition of establishment — Held further: Only the definition of establishment is incorporated from the Shops Act into the Permanent Status Act, so the exemption in s.4(1)(c) of the Shops Act is of no consequence, and the Permanent Status Act continues to apply unless exemption is obtained from the State Government under s.9. V. Elayaperumal v. State Bank of India, 2007 (2) LLN 212, followed. (¶35, 36) Permanent Status Act, 1981 — S.3 — 480 days of continuous service — Closure of shops — Held further: A workman with 480 days of continuous service within 24 consecutive months must automatically be made a permanent employee; mere closure of shops does not imply that the tenure of workmen accommodated in other shops stood terminated. Writ appeals dismissed. (¶28, 37, 40, 43)