CONSOLIDATED COFFEE LTD Vs. COFFEE BOARD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In these petitions, presented by the Coffee Planters, the following question of law arises for consideration :

(2.) The brief facts and circumstances of the case which have given rise 10 the above question are these : The Coffee Board ('the Board' for short) is constituted under the Colfee Act, 1942, ('the Act' for short) enacted for the development of the coffee industry under the control of the union. The Board is the statutory authority on which the exclusive right to purchase and sell the coffee produced in the country is conferred under the provisions of the Act. The Act brought into existence a pool marketing system for cotfee produced in the country. Section 22 of the Act, however, provides for allotment of internal sale quota to each registered estate by the Board with the previous sanction of the Central Government. It is common ground that except ior a few years after the commencement of the Act. no internal sale quota of coffee is being allotted to any estate. The resultant position is the entire coffee grown by the petitioners and other planters has got to be delivered to the Coffee Board The relevant Section of the Act, which compel such surrender is Section 25 of the Act. It reads :

(3.) Section 30 of the Act requires the Board to maintain two separate funds. General fund and Pool fund. The composition of two funds and the purpose for which the amount from each of the funds could be expended are prescribed in Sections 31 and 32 of the Act. The three sections read :-