(1.) The petitioner is engaged in the business of buying and selling of coconuts and copra in Cannanore, a notified area under the Madras Commercial Crops Markets Act 1933 (hereinafter called the Act). Under the Act trading in commercial crops in a notified area can be carried on only under a licence issued by the Market Committee. The Government is bound to establish a market committee for every notified area and it shall be the duty of the market committee to enforce the provisions of the Act and the Rules and Bye laws made thereunder.
(2.) The petitioner contends that the Government have not constituted the market committee after 1959, that the functions of the market committee are being performed by the Collector, that this is illegal, that the provision of S.11 imposing a fee upon the sales and purchases of commercial crops in the notified area is bad and that the provisions of the Act violate the freedom of trade and commerce guaranteed under Art.301.
(3.) Under S.6A of the Act, the Collector is entitled to carry on the functions of the Market committee until a new market committee is constituted. So there is nothing illegal in the Collector performing the functions of the Market committee until a new Market committee is constituted. So the first contention fails.