ALLAHNOOR Vs. DISTRICT MAGISTRATE CHITTORGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an application by Allahnoor under Article 226 of the Constitution for a writ, direction or order to the District Magistrate of Chittorgarh, and arises in the following circumstances:

(2.) The applicant is a person carrying on trade and business of manufacturing file- works, and sale or gun-powder at Nimbahera. In that connection, he applied to the District Magistrate of Chittorgarh for a no-objection certificate under Rule 85(3) of the Explosives Rules as he desired to obtain a license for 200 pounds of gunpowder from the Chief Inspector of Explosives. The District Magistrate, however, rejected the application without even looking at the site where the applicant proposed to carry on the business, and gave, no reasons to the applicant for such rejection. The applicant, therefore, has come up to this Court and his contention is that he is being deprived of his occupation, and thus his fundamental right granted under Article 19(1) (g) of the Constitution has been violated. He also attacks the Rules under the Indian Explosives Act on the ground that they impose unreasonable restriction on his fundamental right to carry on his trade inasmuch as the rules confer arbitrary power on the authorities to refuse licences. Though Rule 85(5) is not mentioned by the applicant in his application, the main attack is on that rule.

(3.) The application has been opposed on behalf of the opposite party, and his contention is that he had full authority to refuse the no-objection certificate. Reliance is placed on his behalf on Rule 85(5) in this connection. It is also urged that the opposite party was under no obligation to communicate to the applicant the grounds for his refusing the no-objection certificate.