L ARJAN DAS DUGGAL Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioners Arjan Das and Kapur Chand have filed this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution challenging the validity of the Punjab Opium (Restriction on Oral Consumption) Rules promulgated by the Punjab Government under section 5 of the Opium Act (Central Act I of 1878) and published in the Punjab gazette dated 8-2-1957. Originally these rules were to come into force from 1-41957 but they were not enforced till 1-10-1957.

(2.) THE facts leading to this petition are not in dispute. The impugned rules were published in the Punjab Gazette on 8-2-1957. An auction was held on 19-2-1957 at Amritsar and the petitioners were the highest bidders for four retail shops of opium at Amritsar City and for the retail shop at Verka (a suburb of Amritsar ). They offered to pay Rs. 2,50100/- for the four Amritsar shops and Rs. 25,100/- for the Verka shop. Their offer was accepted and they were granted the necessary license for the retail vend of opium for the financial year 1957-58 in these five shops. The petitioners started selling opium in accordance with the licenses granted to them with effect from the 1-4-1957. The impugned Rules were notified to be put in force originally from 1-4-1957 and later on from 1-10-1957. The petitioners filed this petition challenging the validity of these Rules on the grounds that they 1. are inconsistent with the parent Opium Act, and 2. contravene Articles 14 and 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution of India. At the time of arguments the learned counsel for the petitioners conceded that these rules are not repugnant to Article 14 of the Constitution and confined his case to the other two points.

(3.) BEFORE dealing with the arguments, I may state the scheme of the Rules and the particular provisions which are alleged to be invalid on one or the other grounds. Section 4 of the Opium Act prohibits possession, transport, import or export or sale of opium unless permitted by the Act or by any other enactment or by rules framed under this Act. Section 5 empowers the State Government to make rules under the Act to permit absolutely or subject inter alia to some condition and also to regulate the possession and sale etc. of opium. The rules now under consideration, as stated above, have been made under section 5 of the Act. These rules introduced the system of rationing for the sale and consumption of opium by mouth. For this purpose rationcards are to be issued. These cards are to be issued only to persons addicted to the oral consumption of opium. The addicts, whether residents within the State or visiting the State, shall apply to the Excise and Taxation Officer on the prescribed form along with a certificate from persons acquainted with the applicants or some other persons of the standing mentioned In the Rules to the effect that the facts mentioned in the application are correct. The Officer concerned then can make any inquiries that he considers fit and thereafter he may refuse or grant the ration card to the applicant. The Officer will then enter his name as an addict in the register kept for the purpose. This ration card shall specify the licensed vendor from whom the addict has to purchase opium. The card-holder will produce the card before the opium vendor specified therein for registration within two weeks of the issue of the ration card. The card-holder can get the shop changed by application to the Excise and taxation Officer. The card-holder has to draw the opium per week and the quantity of the opium fixed for 1957-58 is half a tola. In 1958-59 he can draw only one-quarter of a tola per week and thereafter the consumption of opium by mouth is prohibited. If a card-holder does not draw his weekly quota for four consecutive weeks, then the ration-card becomes invalid, but procedure is laid down to get it invalidated. The licensed vendor can sell opium only to a card-holder or to his authorised agent and to no one else. The Excise and Taxation Officer is authorised without previous notice to increase or reduce the weekly quota of any ration-card. When any rule is contravened, provision is made for cancellation, suspension or withdrawal of the ration-card after giving reasonable opportunity to its holder of showing cause against the action proposed. An order cancelling, suspending or withdrawing the ration-card is revisable by the Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner. By these Rules the price of opium is not controlled and it appears that each vendor fixes his own price according to the license fee paid by him. It is suggested that generally prices in the urban areas are higher than those prevailing in rural areas.