Kailasam, J.

This writ appeal is preferred by the Madras State Electricity Board represented by its Secretary against the decision of Rajagopalan, J., holding that the clerical staff of the Board, which is an industrial undertaking, is a commercial establishment as defined by the Madras Establishment Act. The appellant, the Madras State Electricity Board, was constituted under the Electricity (Supply) Act (Act 54 of 1948). The Madras Electricity Board was constituted with effect from 1 July, 1957. On its constitution the Board took over the employees, who were up to then in the employment of the Government of Madras in the Electricity Department. Many of them were clerks and typists appointed by the Government on a temporary basis. According to the rules, their services were liable to be terminated without notice. After the clerks and typists came under the Electricity Board, the Board recruited its own clerical staff and many of the clerks and typists, who were recruited on a temporary basis by the Government, were ousted on giving a month's notice. The discharged clerks and typists appealed to the Commissioner for Workmen's Compensation under S.41 of the Madras Shops a