Suresh Pipes Pvt. Ltd (SPPL) manufactures all types of pipes which are used for residential and commercial complexes. The SPPL is registered under Factories Act, 1948. The company's plant is located in the VKI Industrial

Suresh Pipes Pvt. Ltd (SPPL) manufactures all types of pipes which are used for residential and commercial complexes. The SPPL is registered under Factories Act, 1948. The company's plant is located in the VKI Industrial Area of Jaipur. The company in order to expand its production capacity, planned to construct a factory building on its the vacant land adjacent to its present plant. The company hired the services of Bharat Ram, a civil contractor, to build the factory premises. The contractor employed 20 workers on the construction site. The payment to the contractor was to be made by the SPPL in stages on the basis of the work certified by an approved civil engineer. The contractor after getting the payment of first stage of construction, disappeared and never visited the site. The workers started demanding the wages from the company. One day, an Inspector visited to the factory premises. In his inspection report, he pointed out that the establishment is not registered under the relevant Act. The company officials tried to convince the inspector that the company is already registered under the Factories Act, 1948 but the inspector remained static on his report. Anurag who is a Manager (Administration) of a newspaper titled as 'Khabar Chalisa" and resides in the locality where the SPPL company have its office. Somehow Anurag came to know that SPPL is not paying the wages to the construction workers. He thought it to get publish this news in the 'Khabar Chalisa'. However, Mahesh, the owner of the newspaper, who is a close friend to the Suresh, the Managing Director of SPPL Company advised Anurag not to get the publication of such news in the newspaper since it will affect the image of the company. But Anurag was adamant on the issue, so he decided to quit from the service of 'Khabar Chalisa'. After tendering the resignation from 'Khabar Chalisa', Anurag demanded from the newspaper owner the payment of the dues and the gratuity amount. Anurag served in the newspaper publication house for 4 years and 9 months and his last monthly drawn salary was rupees fifty thousand. However, Mahesh refused to make payment of the gratuity amount. Based on the given facts, answer the following questions: Who shall be treated as employer of the construction workers, in the given case ?