Judgment

VENKATARAMIAH, J.:- In these petitions the petitioners have questioned the validity of bye-law No. 3(1) of the Cycle Rickshaw Bye-Laws, 1960 framed under section 481 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 (hereinafter referred as the Act). Bye-law No. 3(1) reads as follows :

"3(1) No person shall keep or ply for hire a cycle rickshaw in Delhi unless he himself is the owner thereof and holds a licence granted in that behalf by the Commissioner on payment of the fee that may, from time to time, be fixed under sub-section (2) of section 430.

Provided that no person will be granted more than one such licence.

No person shall drive a cycle rickshaw for hire unless he holds a driving licence granted in that behalf by the Commissioner on payment of the fee that may, from time to time be fixed under sub-section (2) of section 430."

2. The petitioners are owners of cycle rickshaws. Some of them own two or more cycle rickshaws which are hired out by them to rickshaw pullers under a contract under which the rickshaw pullers have to pay some amount to the owners of the cycle rickshaws at the end of the day out of their earnings during the day. In order to eliminate the exploitation o