BANSILAL S PATEL Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The relief asked for in each of these writ petitions is to call for the records in G. O. Ms. No. 1199 (Home) Labour II dated 30-6-1962 and to quash the same by issuing a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate Writ, order or direction in the nature of a Writ. W. P. No. 735 of 1962 was filed by Bansilal s. Patel, Proprietor of Kamala Beedi Works, Donekonda as sole petitioner against three respondents. Of them the first respondent is the State of Andhra Pradesh ; the second respondent is the Beedi Workers Karmika Sangham, Karimnagar represented by its General Secretary ; and the third respondent is the Beedi Mazdur Sangh, Nizamabad represented by its President. In W. P. No. 746 of 1962 the respondents are the same as in W. P. No. 735/ 1962. In each of the other writ petitions the State of Andhra Pradesh is the sole respondent. In W. P. No. 746 of 1962 there are 29 petitioners including various concerns engaged in the manufacture of beedies including M/s. Thakur, Savedekar and Co. , Private Ltd., Nizamabad whose general manager filed the affidavit on behalf of all those petitioners. In W. P. No. 807 of 1962, there are eight petitioners who are all beedi factories at Warangal, each petitioner being represented by proprietor or manager. In W. P. No. 337 of 1963, the petitioner is Narayana Velpur Beedi Manufacturing Factory, Velpur represented by its proprietor.

(2.) All the writ petitions are contested by the State of Andhra Pradesh represented by the Government Pleader. Shri P. Ramachandra Reddy, and they were heard together by common consent.

(3.) The relevant facts are as follows. On 11-2-1961, Government passed G. O. No. 319 (Home) Labour II dated 11-2-1961 revising the rates of wages for employment in tobacco including beedi making manufactories in the State of Andhra Pradesh and fixing uniform rates for the whole State. Subsequently, on 20-5-1961, the Government passed G. O. No. 969 (Home) Labour II substituting a new schedule in place of the schedule which has been given in the earlier notification relating to G. O. No. 319. By this new G. O. No. 969, the Government purported to make an amendment to the earlier G. O. The Government made a differentiation between Andhra area and Telangana area and also fixed a flat rate of wages for all sizes of beedies in the Telangana area which was equal to the rate for the big size zadi beedies which had been given for the whole State in G. O. No. 319. The petitioner in W. P. No. 735 of 1962 filed W. P. No. 714 of 1961 in this Court challenging the validity of G. O. Nos. 319 and 969. Many others filed thirty nine other similar writ petitions ; the batch of forty writ petitions were pending at the time when W. P. No. 735 of 1962 was presented on 30-7-1962 and when W. P. No. 746 of 1962 was presented on 30-7-1962 and when W. P. No. 746 of 1962 was presented on 2-8-1962. On 20-8-1962, the batch of forty writs including W. P. No. 714 of 1961 was dismissed. (3a) Meanwhile, on 27-2-1962 Government passed G. O. No. 362, Home Department (Labour II) appointing a committee consisting of six members under S. 5 (1) (a) of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 to hold an enquiry and advise the Government in respect of matters relating to revision of minimum wages in tobacco manufactories (including beedi making). The six members of the Committee were as follows : (1) Chief Inspector of Factories, Hyderabad, Chairman (2) C. J. Reddy, Deputy Chief Inspector of Factories, Hyderabad (3) Shri Lakshmi Narayana Rudra,