RAY, C. J.

( 1 ) THE four cases, mentioned above, arising out of as many petitions, were some of the pending cases in respect of which the jurisdiction of the Patna High court ceased from the 26th July, under Orissa High Court Constitution Order. They have since been transferred to this Court, and heard analogously, as the points for decision are common to all and will be governed by this order.

( 2 ) CRIMINAL Misc. 2/48 has been filed by one Saradhakar Naik of Bamra State, seeking interference of this Court, in the matter of illegal arrest and detention of one Jaydev Thakur of Bamra State and to order him to be set at liberty.

( 3 ) SIMILARLY, Cr Misc. nos. 3, 4 and 5 of 1948 arise out of petitions filed, respectively, by Jayadev Naik of Bamra, Rual Naik and Pravakar Das of kalahandi, in relation to the arrests and detentions of Batnakar Patra of Bamra, nilakanth Patnaik and Lingaraj Daa of Kalahand. In all the petitions, the legality of arrests and detentions of the prisoners has been challenged on identical grounds, viz. , that the States concerned were sovereign Statea under the suzerainty of British Government, as their territories were never ceded to nor included within th