Judgment

AYYANGAR, J. : Having heard the learned counsel for the appellants in full we did not consider it necessary to call on the respondent since, we were clearly of the opinion that the contentions raised in the appeal possessed no merit.

2. The legality of a prosecution for contravention of the notification fixing the maximum prices at which certain categories of iron and steel could be sold is the subject-matter of this appeal. The appellants are two in number, related to each other as husband and wife. The second appellant - Sushila Devi - is " a Registered Stockholder" and is stated to be the proprietor of the firm "Balwanat Devi Sushila Devi" situated in Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh and the first appellant- Bhagwati Saran her husband, the manager of the said firm.

3. There has bee some previous history before the present prosecution was initiated but it is sufficient for the purposes of this appeal to start with the report to the Judicial Magistrate Amathi by the officer incharge of the Police station, Sultanpur, dated August 20, 1955. It was headed "Offence - Section 11-B Iron and Steel Control Order, 1941" and set out the following facts:

"Bhagwati Saran used to work as a Kari