ACHARAJ SINGH Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, who is a cultivator of Patna District has challenged the validity of a direction given to him (Annexure A) in pursuance of the provisions of the Bihar Foodgrains Procurement Order, 1966 (hereinafter referred to its the Order) to deliver certain quantity of paddv at the Government godown.

(2.) On the 26th October 1962, the President issued the well known proclamation of Emergency under Article 352 (1) of the Constitution, and thereafter the Defence of India Act, 1962, was passed by the Parliament. Subsection (1) of Section 3 of that Act conferred power on the Central Government to make rules for maintaining supplies and services essential to the life of the community. In Subsection (2) of that section various matters which may be provided for in the rules were specified "without prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred by Sub-section

(3.) In exercise of the powers conferred by Rule 125. the Government of Bihar. with the prior concurrence of the Central Government, made the order which was published in notification No. 18038. dated the 29lh October, 1965. As the validity of the order is in question. I may briefly refer to the main provisions of the order. The primary purpose of the order was to confer power on the appropriate authority to direct even cullivator to supply at the Government godown a certain quantity of paddy or rice or in lieu of the same, wheat. gram or maize at a price fixed by the Government The first five acres of lands in the possession of a cultivator were completely exempted from the scope of the order. But where a cullivator was in possession of lands in excess of 5 acres, he was required to supply at the Government godown 60 Kilograms of paddv per acre, in respect of the excess, in Bihar plains, and 40 Kilograms per acre in Bihar Plateau (Clause 3). He was given the option of supplying rice in lieu of paddv. and for that purpose 62 1/2 Kilograms of rice were treated as equivalent to one quintal (100 Kilograms) of paddy (ist proviso to Clause 3). Where he has neither paddy nor rice, he may after satisfying the Block Development Officer, supply in lieu of paddy, wheat or gram or maize on the same scale 2nd proviso to clause 3). Certain classes of lands, suchasdiara lands, lands lying fallow due to an order of a competent authority, or lands where widespread calamities like famine, flood, drought, locusts, etc. have taken place were excluded from the operation of this clause (3rd proviso to clause 3). Apart from these general exceptions to the levy, Clause 15 of the order conferred power on the appropriate authority to specially exempt any class of persons of the scheduled tribes, or any class of land, from the operation of the order. In pursuance of this power the Government exempted the Paharis and Asur Class of the scheduled Tribes wholly from the operation of the order and similarly certain class of lands in Chotanagpur Division and Santhal Parganas forests or homestead or rocky lands in all places, and lands which were not fit for horticulture or cultivation, and other class of lands were also exempted. By virtue of these exemptions it seems fairly clear that the right to levy foodgrains conferred by Clause 3 of the order was restricted to those lands which were either actually under cultivation or capable of being cultivated. The procedure for making the levy was provided in Clauses 4 to 8. Under Clause 4 the Block Development Officer is first required to issue notice on the cultivator concerned, mentioning therein the extent of the land in his possession, the quantily of paddy to he sold by him and the period during which the paddy should be delivered at the Government godown. Clauses 5 and 6 deal with service of notice and they are not material for the present discussion. Clause 8 authorises the cullivator on whom such a notice is issued to file an objection before the Anchal Adhikari on the following grounds :