The petitioner in all these cases is the same and he is the owner of a weaving concern in Karur. He has put up a thatched shed where he has installed a certain number of hand-looms. On these, towels and bed-sheets are manufactured. His office staff consists only of two clerks and they are the only permanent members of his establishment. The residents of the neighbourhood when they have time on their hands and when they feel inclined to do so, go to the petitioner’s shed where they are supplied with yarn. These they weave into towels and bed-sheets and they are paid at certain agreed rates for the articles they so weave. These persons come in when they like and go out when they like. In other words, they work on the premises only when it suits them to do so. The principal occupation of the residents of Karur is agriculture and weaving is only their spare-time occupation. They accept work only according to the time they are able to spare from their agricultural avocations. No one is required to attend on any fixed day. In fact, they are free not to come at all. There are about a hundred similar establishments in Karur and a person who works in one establishment is at liberty to