DURGAOILMILLS Vs. AGRICULTURE PRODUCE MARKETING BOARD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners who are Oil Mill owners have filed this writ application praying therein for a declaration that mustard oil is not a commodity notified in Schedule I of the Bihar Agricultural Produce Market Act, 1960 (hereinafter called and referred to as 'the said Act') and thus no market fee is leviable thereupon.

(2.) The petitioners are manufacturers of mustard oil and they got themselves registered with the Bihar Agricultural Produce Market Committee, Patna City and are also licensees under Bihar Trade Articles Unification of Licences) Order. The petitioners contend that before a commodity is notified to be an agricultural produce, the provisions of Sections 3 and 4 of the said Act have to be complied with According to the petitioners, the intention of the legislatures to include such agricultural produce in respect whereof the market fee is to be realised has been notified in the schedule. It has further been stated that mustard oil cannot be notified as vegetable oil, nor market fee is leviable thereupon, in view of the fact that only 'oil seeds' have been notified and not mustard oil as such.

(3.) The petitioners have contended that despite the fact that no market fee is leviable, they have been forced to deposit the same. The petitioner no. 1 filed an objection which is contained in Annexure-1 to the writ application but by reason of the impugned orders as contained in Annexure-2 series dated 7 6.1993, the said objection has been rejected keeping in view the orders of this court passed in CWJC No. 1329 of 1985. The respondent no 2 in his order has strongly relied upon a decision of this Court in Tata Oil Mills v. Director, Marketing (CWJC No. 1329 of 1985) reported in 1985 PLJR 172.