MAHA LAXMI Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN all these sixty two writ petitions the petitioners who are traders challenge the order of the Collectors of the various Districts banning export of gram, gramdal, barley and barley ghat purporting to have been made in the exercise of powers under Clause 12(d) and (e) of the Rajasthan Food Grains Dealers Licensing Order 1964, hereinafter referred to as Licensing Order.

(2.) THE Collector of various Districts in exercise of their power under Clause 12 (d) and (e) of the Licensing Order prohibited the export of the food grains and further restricted their movement inside the State by the imugned orders. The short controversy involved in all these petitions is whether the Collector of the District is competent to put a ban on the movement and export of the food -grains under the Licensing Order.

(3.) ON the other side, learned Deputy Government Advocate Mr. M.D. Purohit endeavoured to justify the impugned orders. The learned Deputy Government Advocate's contention in that the impugned orders have been passed under Clause 12 (d) of the Licensing Order. It is said that the Licensing Order has been made by the State Government with the prior concurrence of the Central Government and subclauses (d) and (e)of Clause 12 of the Licensing Order are comprehensive enough to confer power on the Collcetors who are sub -delegatees of the State to put a ban on the export of food grains outside the State of Rajasthan. In this connection the learned Deputy Government Advocate has invited my attention to Government Notification dated 24th February, 1964 and clauses (d) and (e) of the Licensing Order. It would be proper to extract the Government Notification and the relevant clauses of the Licensing Order relied upon by the learned Deputy Government Advocate. The Notification reads as under: