THE KEONJHAR REGULATED MARKET COMMITTEE AND ANR. Vs. STATE OF ORISSA THROUGH SECRETARY, URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND ANR.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Petitioners Nos. 1 and 2 are respectively Keonjhar Regulated Market Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Market Committee) represented by its Chairman and Secretary of that Committee. This writ application has been filed to quash Annexure -7 which is an order issued by the Under Secretary to the Government in its Urban Development Department to the District Magistrate, Keonjhar, copy of which has also been forwarded to the Petitioners under memo No. 516 dated 10 -2 -1972, for information and necessary action, and to injunct the opposite party No. 2 from carrying on any business in the agricultural produce in the market run by it.

(2.) BY notification No. 13700/CF dated 19 -7 -1966, issued under Sub -section (1) of Section 4 of the Orissa Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1956 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) the State Government declared the areas specified in Schedule B thereto to be the market area of Keonjhar in the district of Keonjhar for the purpose of the said Act in respect of the agricultural produce specified in Schedule A annexed thereto. This notification was issued by the State Government in the Co -operation and Forestry Department. Again by another notification No. MIN, 22/66 -23049/CF7 -12 -1966, the State Government in the said department established a market committee comprising of the members enumerated in that notification. These two notifications are respectively Annexures 2 and 1 appended to the writ application. By another notification No. 66 -IN -5/70. 14412/CF dated 27 -6 -1970 issued in pursuance of Sub -section (5) of Section 4 of the Act, the State Government included the local limits of the Keonjhar Municipality and some other areas within the market area declared previously as per Annexure -2. The market committee, as initially constituted by the State Government, included the Chairman of the Keonjhar, N.A.C. as one of its members and it, by its resolution dated 18 -1 -1970, selected an area of Ac. 2.50 decimals of land, adjacent to the Municipality weekly market, for the purpose of setting up a market yard, being satisfied as to its suitability after a spot visit. This resolution was confirmed in its next meeting held on 24 -3 -1970. 'I he Chairman of Keonjhar N.A.C. was a consenting party to both these resolutions. (Annexures 4 and 5). Being moved by the Registrar of the Cooperative Societies, the State Government, in pursuance of Rule 46 of the Orissa Agricultural Produce Markets Rules, 1958, declared the selected site of Ac. 2.50 decimals as the market yard by notification No. 16168/CF dated 21 -7 -1970, which is Annexure -a. Subsequent to this notification, the market committee constructed a market yard on the site and fenced it all around with a total expenditure of about Rs. 10,000/ -.

(3.) BOTH the opposite parties have filed their counters. Their objections essentially are: