( 1 ) THE petitioners in this batch of petitions under Art. 226 of the Constitution of India, have questioned the action of the respondent authority in insisting on compliance of the provisions of Rule 126 of the Central Motor vehicles Rules, 1989 (c. M. C. Rules for short ). Since common questions are involved in all the petitions, upon a joint request, all these petitions are being disposed of by this common judgment.

( 2 ) THE main question in this group of petitions is the applicability and interpretation of the provisions of Rule 126 of the C. M. V. Rules. In order to appreciate the merits of these petitions, it would be necessary to have a close look into the factual scenario and matrix emerging from the record of the present case. Substantially, common facts may be noted first. The petitioners are dealing in manufacturing or assembling of autorickshaws. Every year, about 1200 autorickshaws (popularly known as "chhakdas") are made or assembled by the petitioners and about 30,000 persons are directly or indirectly employed in such work. Factual Matrix With History :

( 3 ) IN one of the petitions, it is stated that the price at the relevant time came to about Rs.