AMRITLAL Vs. GOVERNMENT OF MYSORE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is the accused in C. C. No. 872/49.50 before the City Magistrate, Bangalore. He was charge sheeted by the police for an offence under Rule 81 (4), Defence of India Rules, as applied to Mysore, for contravening Clause 3, Mysore Food Order 1949 (Restrictions of Service of Meals by Catering Establishments and others).

(2.) The case for the proetcution is that the accused was running a new catering establishment styled 'Lake View Milk Bar without a permit in that behalf. The accused admitted that he was running the Milk Bar without a permit from the Director of Food Supplies. A charge was, therefore, framed against him under Rule 81 (4) for contravening the provisions of Clause (3) of the Mysore Food (Restrictions of Service of Meals by Catering Establiahmenta and others) Order, 1949, and the learned Magistrate convicted the accused and sentenced him to pay a fine of Rs. 40 and in default to undergo Rule 1., for 15 days. This revision petition is filed against that order.

(3.) Sri G. V. Ramaohar, the learned advocate for the petitioner, mainly contended that while it is open under Section 2, Defence of India Act, that?) the Central Government may make rules for certain purposes and that the rules may provide or empower any authority to make orders providing for all or any of the matters contained therein, the Provincial Governments are only authorised to make rules under Rule 81 (2) for regulating or prohibiting the consumption of articles and things of any description whatsoever but cannot delegate the legislative authority to the executive to make any orders to their subjective satisfaction. It is urged by him that Clause 3 of the Mysore Food Order which is framed under Rule 81 (2), Defence of India Rules, invests the Director of Food Supplies with arbitrary powers to issue or withhold permits, which will have the effect of creating monopoly affecting the fundamental rights of the citizens under the Constitution of India.