COLD STORAGE ASSOCIATION Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Petitioner Cold Storage Association. U.P., having its Office at Kanpur, a Society, registered under the Societies Registration Act, has filed the writ petition before this Court, claiming to be on behalf of its members carrying on business of storing potato in their Cold storages situated in the State of U.P., challenging the hiring charges at the rate Rs. 32.50 per quintal for storage of potato fixed by the State Government under Section 29 of the U.P. Regulation of Cold Storages Act, 1976 (hereinafter referred as the Act). The Petitioner has sought quashing of Notification dated 1-6-1992 fixing the aforesaid charges and directing the Respondents, the State of U.P. and the Cold Storage Advisory Board, Lucknow, to permit the members of the Petitioner to realise Rs. 42/- per quintal as hiring charges. The petition which was filed on 18-6-1992 along with an application for interim relief was admitted on 23-6-1992 by the learned Vacation Judge and while allowing time to the Standing Counsel on behalf of the Respondents to file counter affidavit, a time bound stay order was passed permitting the Petitioner to charge at the rate of Rs. 41.50 at par with the cold storages exempted under Section 44A of the Act, with condition that if the writ petition fails the petition shall be liable to refund the difference of the amount realised, for which he was to furnish security to the satisfaction of the District Magistrate concerned. The said stay order, however, has not been extended after 17th August, 1992, and the application for interim relief as well as the objection thereto has come up for final disposal.

(2.) Apart from the two Respondents impleaded initially, a number of potato growers have also intervened in this petition and they have been directed to be impleaded as Respondents no. 3 to 17.

(3.) The contentions of the Petitioner are that the business of cold storages in the State of Uttar Pradesh is governed by the provisions of U.P. Regulation of Cold Storage Act, 1976 and the rules thereunder. Section 29 of the Act authorises the State Government to fix maximum charges which a licensee may charge for storing agricultural products. Sections 3 and 4 of the Act provide for constituting a Cold Storage Advisory Board, to advise the State Government amongst others in the matter of fixation from time to time of maximum charges for storing agricultural produce. It is alleged that ever since the enforcement of the Act the State Government has been exercising its power under Section 29 arbitrarily and hiring charged fixed have always been inadequate and unreasonable, making cold storage industry in U.P. a sick industry. The storage season for potato in the State is February to November each year. For the purposes of fixing the hiring charges the cost incurred under the following heads are taken into consideration :