Judgment

WANCHOO. J. (for all, except Das Gupta, J.) - These twenty-nine petitions under Article 32 of the Constitution raise common questions and will be dealt with together. They have been filed by two firms who obtained patentes to carry on business in Pondicherry in September 1954 for the first time. As the facts in all the petitions are similar, we shall only give the facts generally to understand the questions raised before us. The two firms, it may be mentioned, did not carry on any business in Pondicherry before September 1954 when they got a patente each and the proprietor of one of them is a resident of New Delhi while the proprietor of the other is a resident of Bombay.

2. The administration of Pondicherry was taken over by the Union of India from November 1, 1954. Before that Pondicherry was under the administration of the Government of France and was a free port. Import into Pondicherry was thus not subject to any restriction, except with regard to certain goods with which we are not concerned in the present petitions. Any merchant desiring to carry on business in the territory of Pondicherry had however to obtain a patente before could do so. These patentes were