Subhro Kamal Mukherjee, J.

1. I have had the advantage of going through the draft judgment prepared by My Lord the Chief Justice. My Lord the Chief Justice opines that M/s. Balmer Lawrie and Company Limited is not an authority within the meaning of 'other authorities' in Article 12 of the Constitution of India. With utmost respect to My Lord, I regret that I cannot concur with such conclusion.

2. My Lord the Chief Justice has dealt with the matter in detail in the judgment proposed by His Lordship and since facts have been fully stated, I do not propose to repeat them in my judgment to avoid prolixity. I will only deal with those aspects, which are necessary for the purpose of expressing my opinion.

3. Presently, in the appeals and connected writ application we are concerned with the question whether M/s. Balmer Lawrie and Company Limited is an authority within the meaning of 'other authorities' and as such 'State' within the meaning of Article 12 of the Constitution of India and, therefore, amenable to the constitutional writ jurisdiction of the High Court?

4. Interpretations as to the scope of Article 12 of the Constitution of India were subject matters in various decisions