( 1. ) IN this batch of writ petitions filed under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, the petitioners have prayed for quashment of the Notification No. F. 15-17-97-XVI-A, dated 20-14999 (Annexure P-4) published in the M. P. Gazette (Extra-ordinary, dated 21st January, 1999) on the ground that it is void, illegal, unconstitutional, discriminatory and without jurisdiction. ( 2. ) BY the said notification issued by the State of Madhya Pradesh in exercise of power conferred on it by Sub-section (3) of Section 1 of the Madhya Pradesh Industrial Relations Act, 1960 (for brevity the Act), the amendment in the Notification dated 31-12-1960 pertaining to entry No. 16 has been amended as under :-

"16. Engineering including Motor Vehicle but excluding engineering industry being carried on by any Department of the State Government. " The grievance of the petitioners pertains to the later part of the said amended notification which has been inserted viz. , "excluding engineering industry being carried on by any Department of the State Government".

( 3. ) ACCORDING to the petitioners, before the amendment they were governed by the unamended Act and by the exclusion of the "engineering industry being carried on by the Department of State Government" a fatal dent has been created in their service career and it has created hurdle in the redressal of their grievances under the Industrial Jurisprudence.

( 4. ) ACCORDING to the petitioners, the Act was enacted and came into effect from 31-12-1960 and by the said Act the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946 was repealed. According to the petitioners the unamended Act was akin to the Bombay Industrial Relations Act wherein various industries, including engineering, were covered.

( 5. ) IT has been putforth by the petitioners that by the impugned Notification (Annexure P-4) the State Government had, in fact, snatched away the valuable right of the employees of the engineering industries of the State as they have now been deprived to approach the Labour Court directly for the redressal of their grievances. The consequences are apparent and now they have to take recourse under the provision of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The petitioners in their petition have tried to demonstrate that how the Act was more beneficial to them in comparison to that of the Industrial Disputes Act. The main contentions of the petitioners attacking the validity of the impugned notification can be broadly summarized as under :-

"the State Government has no jurisdiction or power to issue the impugned Notification (Annexure P-4) because Sub-section (3) of Section 1 of the Act is in the nature of conditional legislation; (2) The Madhya Pradesh Legislature had passed the Act which is complete in all respects and the choice of the industries to which it is extended and the date from which it is to be made applicable has been delegated to the State Government; (3) The State Government after having exercised the power in selecting engineering industry as the industry amongst other specified in the Notification dated 31-12-1960 and having decided it to apply the said Act to all the industries specified therein with effect from the date of Notification the State Government has become functus officio and it would not be permissible for it thereafter to issue any further Notification for withdrawing the application of the Act in respect of the industries to which it has already made the same applicable; (4) The action of the State Government issuing the impugned Notification is nothing but amounts to repealing of the Act which is not in its competence as the said power can only be exercised by the State Legislature;

(5) As the Act is akin to the Act of Bombay Industrial Relations Act in which as per Section 2 (5) the power to withdraw a particular provision is very much there but there is no such provision in the present Act; (6) Even if a power conferred by Sub-section (3) of Section 1 of the Act to the State