This is a petition for the issue of an appropriate writ to restrain the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner from enforcing his orders dated 28th November, 1956, 29th December, 1956, and 6th March, 1957. The relevant facts are these. The petitioners are the firm of V. Perumal Chetty & Sons. They run a pencil factory in Madras, in which according to one part of the record 114 people and according to another part of the record 140 people are employed. The factory utilises imported machinery, and attached to the factory is a foundry and a workshop in which certain spare parts required for the use of the machinery are fabricated. The number of persons employed in this workshop and foundry is 23.

On 28th November, 1956, the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner wrote to the petitioners,

“Your factory comes under the purview of the Employees Provident Funds Act, 1952 and the Scheme framed thereunder from 1st November, 1952 as it is engaged in the manufacture of ”General Engineering Products“ one of the industries mentioned in Schedule I to the Employees Provident Funds Act, 1952, has completed three years from the date of commencement of production on the 6th October, 1952 and has em