BERI, C.J.—Seven petition u/Art. 226 of the Constitution of India were presented before learned Single Judge of this Court challenging the validity of the notification dated November 21, 1972, whereby the petitioners were directed to operate their Power Crushers of Khandsari Units in the reserved area only after February, 1973 and to restrain their working to one shift of 8 hours each within the specified hours. Inter alia the grounds of challenge were that the restrictions imposed by this order were violative of the fundamental rights of the petitioner being unreasonable restrictions placed on their rights to carry on the business of manufacturing Khandsari Sugar. The aforesaid applications were admitted by the learned single judge. After hearing the learned Advocate General and others on behalf of the Government, the learned single judge by his order dated 17-1-1973 ordered that it will be in the interest of justice if the operation of the notification No. F. 2,41) Ind/71 Volume I dated 28-11-1972 was stayed subject to the condition that an Inspector, if appointed by the Government, supervised the purchase of sugarcane by che petitioners at the place where the sugarcane was purchased and weighed. The petitioners were to comply with the condition of purchasing only three hundred quintals of sugar cane per day. It was expected that the Government shall issue permit to the petitioner to start functioning from day after tomorrow. Against this interim order these seven special Appeals have been preferred under sec. 18 of the Rajasthan High Court Ordinance. The office has raised an objection that these appeals are not maintainable. A notice was issued to the petitioners. They have appeared before us to support the office objection.

2. Mr. Rajnarain, learned Additional Advocate General urged that the order under appeal has practically determined the controversy between the parties because the petitioners can purchase and crush sugarcane after 1st Feb., 1973 and therefore it was a decision on merits of the case. He placed reliance on Ashumati Devi vs. Kumar Rupendra Deb Raikot(l); Dewaji vs. Ganpatlal;(2), Radhey Shyam vs. Shyam Behari Singh(3).

3. Mr. M. B. L. Bhargava representing three petitioners urged that it was clearly an interlocutory order which is not covered by the word judgment as employed in sec. 13 of the Rajas than High Court Ordinance, and so no appeal lay. He placed reliance on M/s. Tarapore and Co., Madras vs. M/s. V/O. Tractors Export, Moscow(4) and Southern Roadways (P) Ltd., vs. P. Mathurai Veeraswami (died) M. Bhanapalan and Ors. (F. B.) (5).

4. Mr. R. K. Rastogi appearing on behalf of the other respondents supported the contention of Mr. M. B. L. Bhargava and placed reliance on Prakash Chand Agarwal vs. M/s. Hindusthan Steel Ltd.,(6).

5. Material portion of Sec. 18 of the Rajasthan High Court Ordinance reads as follows :

S. 18 Appeal to the High Court from Judges of the Court—(I) An appeal shall lie to the High Court, from the judgment (not being a judgment passed in the exercise of appellate jurisdiction in respect of a decree or order made in the exercise of appellate jurisdiction by a Court subject to the superintendence of the High Court and not being an order made in the exercise of revisional jurisdiction and not being a sentence or order passed or made in the exercise of the power of superintendence under sec. 43 or in the exercise of criminal jurisdiction) of one Judge of the High Court."

6. The crucial word which calls for interpretation is the word judgment employed in sec. 18(1). The word judgment also occurs in clauses 15 and 39 of the Letters Patent of the Madras High Court which received a close and careful consideration of the five learned Judges of that Court in Southern Roadways (P) Ltd., V.P. Mathurai Veeraswami (died) M. Dhanapalan (5). They observed that true import of the word judgment or the tests by which any judicial order can be regarded as a judgment is that it should be the determination o