JUDGMENT

Kirpal, J.-The appellants who carry on the business of shroffs are impugning the validity of Section 9 of the Reserve Bank of India Act as amended by the Amendment Act, 1997 (hereinafter referred to as the Act ) on the ground that the said provision is violative of Articles 14 and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution on India.

2. The trade of business of shroffs in India has been in existence for a long time. This trade is carried on not only in cities but also in small towns and villages in parts of India.

3. The appellants are shroffs engaged in the business of providing credit to the members of the public. The traditional mode of organising the business of shroffs over the past several decades had been by way of patnership firms. The nature of the services practised by the appellants generally involved maintaining a mutual current account where the customer may either place deposit on call or withdraw money on call, without security. The financing activity of the shroff firms was through capital contributions of the partners/proprietor and deposits made by members of the public. Some of the other activities of the shroffs include cheque discounting, the issuance of hundis, the