DEVENDRA TRADING COMPANY Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ALL these nine petitions raise a common question of law. Special Civil Application Nos. 570, 626 and 631 of 1973 raise an additional ground about the validity of the notification under section 3 of the Maharashtra Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act, 1963, hereinafter called the Marketing Act. Since all these cases raise in the main a common question of law, all these petitions can be disposed of by a single judgment. The common question that is raised in all these petitions Is: -

(2.) WE heard the counsel for the parties in the first instance on the common question aforestated and after hearing the counsel on that question, we did not call upon the counsel for the petitioners in S. C. A. No. 570, 626 and 631 of 1973 to argue the other ground raised in this petition.

(3.) IN some, petitions that is, Special Civil Applications Nos. 574,629 and 631/1973, the petitioner purchased bidi leaves from the Forest Officer at Gondia, which is within the market area of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee, Gondia. The rest of the petitioners have bean purchasing bidi patta from outside the market area either of the Gondia Market Committee or the Tiroda Market Committee. The tobacco required for the manufacture of bidis is purchased by these petitioners either from the State of Gujrat or the State of Mysore which are both outside the market areas of either Gondia or Tiroda. After purchasing the tendu leaves and the tobacco from outside these market areas, they are brought into these areas by the petitioners for the purposes of rolling them into bidis. In the market areas of Gondia and Tiroda, the respective petitioners have got their factories for the manufacture of bidis. Before rolling the bidis the bidi manufactures have to do some processing of the bidi leaves as well as tobacco and thereafter the bidis are rolled which are also required to be processed before they are put in the market.