The court emphasized the importance of establishing specific facts to support a challenge to the constitutional validity of statutory provisions and highlighted the need for petitioners to provide factual details of how their rights were affected by the impugned provisions.

1. The petitioners herein are two inhabitants of Androth Island which is one of the group of islands known by the name Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands. In exercise of the powers under Art.240 of the Constitution of India, the President promulgated the Laccadive Minicoy and Amindivi Islands (Debt Conciliation and Grant of Loans) Regulation, 1964. This was amended by Regulation No. 3 of 1970. The object of the above Regulation is to provide for the conciliation of debts incurred by, and for the grant of loans to the inhabitants of the Union territory of Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands. It is necessary to refer to some of the salient provisions of the Regulation, S.2 (b) defines debt-S. 3 provides for establishment of Tribunals. S.4 provides for filing of application by a debtor before the Tribunal for settlement of debt. S.S, 6, 7 and 8 deal with the procedure to be followed by the Tribunal on receipt of an application. S.9 fixes the maximum amount allowable to a creditor in settlement of a debt, and it also deals with the power of the Tribunal In the said matter. S.10 provides for an appeal to the prescribed authority from any order passed by the Tribunal on application under S.4; and S.11 provides for a revision to the Administrator from the order passed by the appellate authority under S.10. It is not necessary to refer to the other provisions of the Regulation,

2. The petitioners allege that the first petitioner's mother has taken a lease of the usufructs of certain coconut trees from the fifth respondent for a loan given to him, and that the second petitioner has also taken a similar lease of the usufructs of coconut trees from the 6th respondent for another loan given to him. The petitioners further allege that respondents 5 and 6 have filed applications before the fourth respondent the Debt Conciliation Tribunal, Androth Island under S.4 of the Regulation for settlement of the above debts. The petitioners also state "that other debtors of the petitioners are also likely to file applications before the fourth respondent under the provisions of the Regulation and the fourth respondents is likely to proceed with the trial of these applications." The petitioners do not disclose who these other debtors, nor any particulars regarding any of the debts including the debts due from respondents 5 and 6, such as the dates on which debts were incurred, the amounts of the debts and the terms and conditions of the contract regarding the discharge of the debts. The petitioners contend that the definition of "debt" in S.2 (b) of the Regulation in so far as it excludes from its ambit any debt due to a Co-operative Bank or Co-operative Society or to any banking company, and S.9(2) of the Regulation which provides that the money equivalent of the coconuts or copra realised by the creditor shall be computed on the basis of the average market price of coconuts and copra for three years preceding the year in which the application under S.4 is made are unconstitutional. They pray that the said provisions may be accordingly declared as unconstitutional and invalid, and that the fourth respondent be refrained from enforcing the provision of the Regulation against them.

3. Respondents 1 and 3 are the Union of India and the Administrator of the Islands. They along with the 4th respondent have filed a counter-affidavit opposing the petitioners' contentions. The counter-affidavit states the circumstances under which the Regulation was issued as follows:

"The said regulation was enacted, in order to regulate the conciliation of debts and to impose restrictions on creditors harassing debtors and exacting large amounts of money by way of interest. The inhabitants of the Islands are poor and their livelihood is from the yield of coconut trees and from fishing operations, carried on by them in fair weather The community is economically very backward. The backwardness of the islands are relatable to several circumstances historical