JUDGMENT :

MUDHOLKAR, J.

1. This order will also govern Special Civil Application No. 214 of 1958. In these petitions the petitioners challenge the notification issued by the Government of Bombay in Labour and Social Welfare Department, dated 11 June, 1958, under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. That notification runs thus:

"No. MWA. 1557-J. In exercise of the powers conferred by Sub-section (2) of S. 5 read with Clause (b) of Sub-section (1) of that section of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 (XI of 1948), and after consulting the Advisory Board and in supesession of the former Government of Madhya Pradesh Labour Department notification No. 564-451-XXIII, dated 23 February, 1956, the Government of Bombay hereby revise the minimum rates of wages in respect of the employment in any tobacco (including bidi-making) manufactory in the Vidharbha region of the State of Bombay as mentioned in the schedule hereto annexed and directed that this notification shall come into force with effect from 1 July 1958."

Schedule

Subject to the other provisions of this schedule, the revised minimum rates of wages payable to employee per thousand bidis (when leaves are supplied by the employer) shall be as follows:

2. For all bidis in which 7 chataks or more of tobacco mixtures is used and for those bidis which are known as "hathakhun" bidis, there shall be an increase of 12 nP. per 1,000 bidis in the rates mentioned above in all the areas.

3. It shall be within the discretion of the employer to decide which are "chhat" bidis or bid bidis, up to 5 per cent of the bidis prepared by the employee. If the employer decides that any bidis are "chhat" or bad, the "chhat" or bad bidis up to 5 per cent shall be destroyed forthwith by the employee and whatever tobacco is recovered from them shall be retained by the employer. If, however, the employer wants to retain these "chhat" or bad bidis, he shall pay full wages for the same to the employee.

4. If "chhat" or bad bidis are more than 5 per cent, but less than 10 per cent, and if there is any dispute between the employer and the employee as to whether the "chhat" or bad bidis is done properly on not, equal number of representatives of the employer and the employee shall inspect (sic) the "chhat" is done properly or not. If there is any difference of opinion among the representatives of the two sides, the majority opinion shall prevail. If the opinion is equally divided and the employer wants to retain the "chhat" bidis, he shall pay wages for "chhat" bidis between 5 per cent and 10 per cent at half the rates fixed above. If the employer does not want to retain these bidis, the employee shall destroy them forthwith.

5. The employer shall nominate his representatives and the employee shall elect their representatives.

6. In the case of "chhat" above 10 per cent, the employee shall be entitled to full wages. It shall, however, be open to the employer to take suitable action against the employee if the "chhat" is more than 10 per cent for 6 continuous working days in calendar month.

7. The "chhat" shall be made once in a day only at any premises within a distance of not more than 2 miles from the premises where bidis are manufactured:

"Explanation - For the purposes of this schedule the expression "employer" includes his thekadar, contractor or agent as the case may be."

2. Petitioner 1 in Special Civil Application No. 205 of 1958 is an association of manufacturers of bidis in the Bhandara district. Petitioners 2 and 3 are proprietors of the concerns manufacturing bidis in Gondia. The petitioners in the other civil application are manufacturers of bidis in the City of Nagpur and in the Bhandara district. It is common ground that some of