JUDGMENT

FATHIMA BEEVI, J.:- These appeals arise out of the common judgment of the Madras High Court in a batch of writ petitions in which the respondents challenged the validity of the amendments effected to Article 1 and insertion of Article 8-A to Appendix 11 of the Tamil Nadu Chit Fund Rules, 1961 (for short the Rules). The High Court in its judgment dated 20-3-1985 has struck down as invalid the impugned amendments.

2. The Tamil Nadu Chit Funds Act, 1961 (The Act) provides for the regulation of chit fund in the State of Tamil Nadu. Chit is a transaction by which its foreman enters into an agreement with number of subscribers that every one of them shall subscribe certain sum by instalments for a definite period and that each subscriber in his turn as determined by lot or by auction, shall be entitled to a prize amount. The sum total of the subscription payable by all the subscribers for any instalment of a chit without any deduction for discount or otherwise is chit amount.

3. It is useful to summarise the scheme of the Act and the Rules. The Registrar of chit funds is appointed by the Government under Section 51. No person can start or conduct any chit unless he registers with t