JUDGMENT

Dr. AR. Lakshmanan, J. — Leave granted in the special leave petitions.

2. Civil Appeal No. 1726 of 2005 and 119 special leave petitions (now civil appeals) have been filed by the Employees State Insurance Corporation (in short the "Corporation") against the common final judgment and order dated 16.03.2004 passed by the Division Bench of High Court at Calcutta in APO No. 124 of 2001.

3. Civil Appeal No. 1726 of 2005 arises out of the writ petition filed by Jardine Henderson Staff Association and Others wherein they challenged the Notification dated 23.12.1996. The Notification was issued by the Union of India by which the Central Government amended Rules 50, 51 and 54 of the Employees State Insurance (Central) Rules, 1950, pursuant to which the wage limit for coverage of an employee under Section 2(9)(b) of the Employees State Insurance Act (in short the Act) was enhanced from Rs.3,000/- to Rs.6,500/- instead of the existing wage ceiling of Rs.3,000/- p.m. Various Employees Associations challenged the Notification. They prayed for quashing the Notification and also, in some of the appeals, for declaring the Amended Rules as ultra vires. Petitions were filed mostly by the E