Judgment

HEGDE, J.: This appeal by certificate arises from the decision rendered on 18th March 1968 by the Patna High Court in C. W. J. C. No. 816 of 1967. That was a petition filed by the appellant under Art. 226 of the Constitution praying inter alia, that the High Court may be pleased to quash the two orders made by the Cane Commissioner, Bihar on November 14, 1967 under which he excluded 99 villages from the area reserved by him in favour of the appellant under Cl. 6 of the Sugar Cane (Control) Order 1966 (to be hereinafter referred to as the order ) and included those villages in the area reserved in favour of New Siwal Mill (5th respondent in this appeal). The High Court dismissed that writ petition.

2. The appellant company was established in 1903. Though its sugar mill is in U. P., it used to draw its sugar canes requirement mainly from the neighbouring areas in Bihar State. The mill in question is within about 100 yards of the Bihar border. The appellant s case is that for the last over 30 years the 208 villages of Bihar, with which we are concerned in this appeal had been the principal source of its supply of sugarcane and that the Bihar authorities used to reserve those villages for it. The appellant claims to have spent huge amount in the development of sugarcane growing areas in the said 208 villages in the course of years. It also claims to have advanced large sums to the sugarcane growers in the said villages, such sums to be adjusted later on against the price of the sugarcane purchased. In 1955 the Central Government promulgated the order in exercise of its powers under the Essential Commodities Act. One of the main purpose of that order was to regulate the supply and distribution of sugarcane. Reservation of the said 208 villages in favour of the appellant continued under that order. But in view of the agitation carried on by the 5th respondent and others, during the two seasons 1962-63 and 1963-64 those villages were kept unreserved. Hence any factory was free to make purchases in that area. Even during the period the appellant continued to get its supplies from that area. On February 3, 1964, there was a meeting of the Cane Commissioners of Bihar and U. P. with the object of deciding on a long term basis the question of allotting sugarcane grown in the border area among the sugar factories situated near the Bihar U. P. border. In that meeting it was decided inter alia that the aforementioned 208 villages should be reserved in favour of the appellant; at the same time some of sugarcane growing areas in U. P. were served for some of the Bihar Sugar mills. Accordingly the Cane Commissioner of Bihar passed orders reserving the aforementioned 208 villages for the appellant for two seasons i.e. 1964-65 and 1965-66. For the New Siwan mill (5th respondent) 100 more villages were reserved in Guthani area. The representation of the New Siwan mills for reserving the 208 villages mentioned earlier was rejected by the Cane Commissioner.

3. The powers of the Central Government under cls. 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the order were delegated to the several States and the Cane Commissioners mentioned in the notification issued by the Central Government on July 16, 1966. The State Government of Bihar and the Cane Commissioner of Bihar are amongst the authorities to whom the powers under those clauses were delegated,. By its order of November 4, 1966, the State Government of Bihar rejected the representation made by New Siwan mill by its application of February 17, 1966 asking for reservation of the 208 villages mentioned earlier. Thereafter by his order of December 30, 1966, the Cane Commissioner Bihar reserved those villages for the appellant under cl. 6 (1) (a) of the order for two seasons (1966-67 and 1967-68). The New Siwan mill challenged the validity of that order in C. W. J. C. No. 63 of 1967 in the Patna High Court. The appellant filed its counter affidavit in that proceeding on March 21, 1967.The application was heard in p