1. The petitioners in O.P. No. 792 of 1965 are the appellants in this writ appeal. They challenged, without success, the validity of Ext. P1, a notification issued by the 1st respondent the State of Kerala under S.3 (1)(b) of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, read with S.5 (2) of the said enactment and published in the Kerala Gazette dated the 16th March, 1965.

2. Ext. P1 divided the State into three separate areas:

(1) Quilon and Feroke area, consisting of Quilon, Trivandrum, Kozhikode and Cannanore Districts,

(2) Alwaye area consisting of Ernakulam, Alleppey and Kottayam Districts, and

(3) Trichur area, consisting of Trichur and Palghat Districts and fixed the minimum wages for each of those areas. The earlier notification the notification that Ext. P1 superseded was dated the 12th May 1958.

3. The minimum wages fixed for the Trichur area are lower than those fixed for the other two areas; and the contention of the appellants is that such a fixation is not warranted by the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. The contention is not that the minimum wages fixed for the areas with which they are concerned are too high. The contention is that the lower rate fixed for the Trichur area loads the