N.S.P. PANDIAN AND ORS. Vs. THE STATE OF TAMIL NADU, REPRESENTED BY THE COMMISSIONER AND SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT FOOD DEPARTMENT FORT ST. GEORGE AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Petitioners in Writ Petition Nos. 2470 and 2675 of 1982 are whole sale dealers in rice, while the Petitioner in Writ Petition No. 3034 of 1982 is the Madras City Paddy and Rice Wholesale Dealers Association. The prayer in the writ petitions is for the issue of a writ of certiorari to quash G.O. Ms. No. 33, dated 20th January 1981 as amended by G.O. Ms. No. 785, dated 1st October, 1981 and further extended by G.O. Ms. No. 948, dated 17th December 1981. In G.O. Ms. No. 33, dated 20tb January 1981 the Government directed that the wholesale dealer in paddy or rice shall deliver 40 per cent of paddy or rice purchased by him to Government or the agency nominated by it. The G.O. also stated that in respect of paddy stocks delivered by the wholesale dealers towards levy, payment shall be levied at the following rates:

(2.) Before I deal with the contentions urged before me by the Counsel for the Petitioners, it is necessary to refer to the relevant statutory provisions under which the above Government Orders came to be issued. Sec. 3(1) of the Essential Commodities Act (called the Act) reads as follows:

(3.) The State Government in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Sec. 3 of the Act, promulgated the Tamil Nadu Paddy and Rice (Regulation of Trade) Order, 1974 (called the order Clause 2(H)) of the order defines controlled price as the price notified in this behalf under Sec. 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. Clause 5 of the Order reads: