BISWA NATH SINGH Vs. DISTRICT BOARD OF BALLIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These three applications have been presented to this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution by three brick-kiln owners who have been carrying on the business of manufacturing bricks in the district of Ballia for the last 15 years or so and are at present working several brick-kilns in that district. Under the powers conferred by Section 174(2) (k), District Boards Act, the District Board of Ballia first made a bye-law introducing the licensing of brick-kilns of every description on 4-7-1932. By the notification issued under that bye-law, a licence fee for a chimney brick-kiln was fixed at Rs. 10/-, for a deshi brick-kiln at Rs. 5/- and for a kankar lime kiln at Rs. 2/-. This bye-law came to be sub-sequently amended in 1937 and 1947. By these amendments, the licence fee for chimney brick-kilns was raised to Rs. 25/- and Rs. 100/-. The District Board of Ballia approved of a third amendment in 1950 which raised the licence fee for chimney brick-kilns to Rs. 250/-, deshi brick-kilns to Rs. 50/- and kankar lime-kilns to Rs. 15/-.

(2.) Other restrictions have also been imposed by the bye-laws, viz., (a) that the kilns should be 300 feet from institutions like hospitals etc., (b) that the kilns should be 1000 feet from places where jute, cotton or other inflammable materials are stored, (c) that no excavations be made at a distance of less than 100 feet from any public road.

(3.) We are not concerned in the present applications with these restrictions. The grievance of the applicants is that the recent amendment which has been sanctioned by the Commissioner raising the amount of the licence fee for chimney brick-kilos from Rs. 100/- to Rs. 250/-, deshi brick-kilns to Rs. 50/- and kankar lime-kilns to Rs, 15/-, is contrary to the provisions of Section 174 (2) (k) of the Act. Section 174 (2) (k) reads as follows: