Ramakrishnan, J. These appeals are directed respectively against the judgments of Jagadisan, J., in Writ Petition No. 888 of 1959 and Veeraswami, J., in Writ Petition No. 619 of 1959, petitions filed under Art. 226 of the Constitution. They were heard together since common questions have arisen in them for decision.

In the first case, the petitioner-firm ran a factory, from 1942, for manufacturing tapes, lampwicks, etc., with more than fifty persons in its employ. At an anterior stage, the firm disputed the fact that the Employees' Provident Funds Act, 1952 (Act 19 of 1952), hereinafter referred to as the Act, would apply to the firm, and the question was settled only when the Central Government passed an order on 29 September 1958, under S.19A of the Act, holding that the Act applied. This decision was challenged by the petitioner in Writ Petition No. 888 of 1959, but Jagadisan, J., held the point against the petitioner. It is now not in dispute that the petitioner's concern is covered by the Act. The Regional Provident Fund Commissioner, Madras, by an order dated 1 September 1959, called upon the petitioner to pay

(1) the employer's share of the contribution to the prov