RIKHI RAM Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ON 5th April, 1973, the Governor of Haryana in the exercise of the powers conferred upon him by Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, read with the powers conferred upon him under Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture (Department of Food) Notification dated 20th June, 1972, and all other powers enabling him in this behalf, and with the prior concurrence of the Central Government, made the Haryana Wheat Dealers Licensing and Price Control Order. 1973. This Order shall be hereinafter referred to as Order No. 1. Under this Order, a dealer was defined to mean a person engaged in the business of purchase, sale or storage for sale of wheat in quantity of more than five quintals at any one time and included a chakki owner, but did not include a person who stored wheat produced by him by personal cultivation and a person who did not engage in the business of purchase or sale of wheat. Under Clause 4 of this Order, no dealer was allowed to store more than 100 quintals of wheat at any time. Under Clause 5, no dealer was authorised to sell wheat to another dealer, but it was made permissible for the State Government to authorise any public agency to procure wheat on its behalf from time to time. Such an agency was exempted from the operation of the clause relating to the possession of maximum wheat. The other provisions of the Order, other than Clauses 13 and 14, relate to the licensing fees and security etc. , and are not material for the decision of this case. Clause 13 provides that no dealer shall sell wheat at a rate higher than that fixed by the State Government from time to time by a notification in the official Gazette. Clause 14 provides that a person aggrieved by all order of the licensing authority could file an appeal before the Director within 30 days of the date of the receipt of the order appealed against.

(2.) ON 20th June. 1973, the Governor of Haryana promulgated another Order known as the Haryana Wheat (Restriction on Stock by Producers) Order, 1973. In this Order. "producer" has been defined to mean a person who: (i) in his normal course of avocation grows, manufactures, rears or produces, as the case may be wheat personally, through tenants or otherwise but does not include a person who works as a dealer or a broker or who is a partner of a firm of dealers or brokers; and (ii) who is not engaged in the business of purchase and sale of wheat. Clause 3 of the Order provides that the Government may by notification in the Official Gazette, fix the maximum quantity of wheat which may be possessed by a producer at any time. Clause 4 provides that where no maximum has been fixed under Clause 3, no producer shall have in his possession at any time a quantity of wheat exceeding 30 quintals for the use of his house-hold consisting of ten members and 40 quintals in ease where the members of the house-hold exceed ten and forty kilograms per acre of his entire agricultural holding for use as seed, and that no producer shall have in his possession or custody, whether by way of bailment or otherwise, any quantity of wheat on behalf of or on account of any other person. Clause 5 provides that any producer who on the date of the commencement of this order has, in his possession, any quantity of wheat in excess of the maximum permitted under Clause 4, shall, within 5 days from the date of the enforcement of this Order, deliver to the Government, at procurement price, the excessive wheat possessed by him. This Order will be hereinafter referred to as Order No. 2. In short, the effect of this Order is that limitations were imposed on the capacity of even the producers to retain in their possession wheat beyond the permissible quantity.

(3.) IN exercise of the powers conferred by Clause 13 of Order No. 1, the Governor of Haryana, fixed the following sale price of wheat and wheat flour, per quintal: 1. Wheat superior varieties (Desi Farm, K-68, Sharbati) Rs. 89. 50 2. Wheat flour of above varieties Rs. 95. 50