LAWS(MAD)-1983-9-23

C VADIAPPAU Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU

Decided On September 02, 1983
C.VADIAPPAU Appellant
V/S
STATE OF TAMIL NADU, REPRESENTED BY ITS COMMISSIONER AND SECRETARY, PROHIBITION AND EXCISE DEPARTMENT, FORT ST. GEORGE, MADRAS-9 Respondents

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In all these writ petitions, the petitioners have challenged the constitutional validity of the Tamil Nadu Ordinance IV of 1983 which seeks to amend the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act, 1937 in certain respects.

(2.) All the petitioners herein are persons who had been granted the privilege of supplying by wholesale arrack or liquor under section 17-C of the Prohibition Act read with rule 6 of the Tamil Nadu Arrack (Supply by Wholesale) Rules, 1981 from 16th July, 1981 till 31st March, 1983. They had applied for renewal of their licences in time. Since no orders had been passed on their applications for renewal, the period of their licences should be deemed to have been extended for a period of two months from the date of expiry, i. e., till 31st May, 1983.

(3.) At that stage, the Tamil Nadu Ordinance IV of 1983 was promulgated by the Governor on 27th May, 1983 amending section 17-C by inserting a sub-section (1-A) and also inserting a new section, namely, section 22-B in the Prohibition Act. Section 17-C as it stood before the amendment, enabled the State Government to grant to any person or persons on such conditions and for such period as may be prescribed the exclusive or other privilege of manufacturing or supplying by wholesale any arrack or liquor other than foreign liquor within any local area. This section has been amended under section 2 of the Ordinance deleting the expression or supplying by wholesale both in clauses (a) and (c) of section 17-C. The Ordinance also introduced a sub section (1-A) to section 17-C and that sub-section granted the exclusive privilege of supplying by wholesale arrack and Indian-made foreign spirits for the whole of the State of Tamil Nadu to the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited, which is a Corporation wholly owned and controlled by the State Government and no other person shall be entitled to any privilege of supplying by wholesale arrack or Indian-made foreign spirits for the whole or any part of the State. Thus, while section 17-C before its amendment enabled the State Government to grant privilege of supplying by wholesale arrack or Indian made foreign spirits, to any person, after the amendment, that privilege cannot be given to any private individual and the said privilege exclusively vested with the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited. The Ordinance also introduced a new section 22-B in the Prohibition Act and that section provided that all licences granted in respect of any privilege of supplying by wholesale arrack or Indian-made foreign liquor shall cease to be valid on the expiry of 31st May, 1983 notwithstanding any judgment, decree or order of any Court. The Ordinance has also repealed the Tamil Nadu Indian-made Foreign Spirits (Supply by Wholesale) Rules, 1981 and the Tamil Nadu Arrack (Supply by Wholesale) Rules, 1981 with effect from the 1st day of June, 1983. Clause (d) of section 22-B enabled the State Government to take over the entire stock of arrack of Indian-made foreign spirits as on the 1st day of June, 1983 in the possession of any holder of a licence which has ceased to be valid after 1st June, 1983, on payment of price. Clause (e) of section 22-B enabled the State Government as an interim measure, till the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited commences the supply by wholesale arrack or Indian-made foreign liquor to retail dealers, to supply to the retail dealers directly through the officers of the State Government. The effect of the Ordinance was that the Licences held by the petitioners which expired on 31st May, 1983 could not be renewed as the privilege of wholesale supply of arrack and Indian-made foreign spirits has been conferred exclusively on the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation.