JUDGMENT :

Deshpande, J.

1. By these two petitions, the petitioners pray for striking down the amendment to S. 2(4) of the Bombay Shops and Establishments Act, 1948 (Bombay Act LXXIX of 1948), effected by S. 2(b) of the Maharashtra Act No. LXIV of 1977.

2. The petitioners contend that they do not have any establishment as contemplated by the Bombay Shops and Establishments Act, 1948 ('the Shops Act' for short). Petitioner No. 1 in Special Civil Application No. 1165 of 1978 has employed only one clerk who does miscellaneous work like keeping briefs and carrying them to the Court, and he never employs any organised labour which is involved in carrying on the legal profession by the petitioner.

3. The petitioner in Special Civil Application No. 1185 of 1978 is also an Advocate. Besides being an Advocate, he is also duly elected as the Secretary of the Akola Bar Association. The Shop Inspector of the first respondent, Municipal Council, Akola, issued instructions to this petitioner requiring him to register himself under the provisions of section 7 of the Shops Act, on the assumption that his office-cum-residence is a commercial establishment as defined u/s 2(4) of the Shops Act and also a