Judgment

WANCHOO, J.-These ten appeals on certificates granted by the Andhra Pradesh High Court raise common questions and will be dealt with together. The brief facts necessary for present purposes are these. On June 6, 1957, a notification was issued by the Central Government under s. 3(3A) of the Essential Commodities Act, No. 10 of 1955, (hereinafter referred to as the Act). The notification said that in the opinion of the Central Government it was necessary to control the rise in prices, and prevent the hoarding of rice and paddy in the States and Union territories. Consequently the Central Government directed by the notification that the price at which rice or paddy shall be sold in any locality in the said States and Union territories in compliance with an order made with reference to cl. (f) of sub-s. (2) of the said s. 3 shall be regulated in accordance with the provisions of sub-s. (3A). This order applied amongst other States to the State of Andhra Pradesh and was to be in force for a period of three months. On July 31, 1957, the Central Government made another notification directing that the powers conferred on it by s. 3 of the Act to make orders providing for the matters specified in cl. (f) and for the matters specified in cls. (h), (i) and (j), insofar as they relate to cl. (f) of sub-s. (2) of s. 3 in relation to stocks of rice and paddy held in any locality in the State of Andhra Pradesh shall be exercisable also by Shri K. S. Krishnan, Deputy Director (Food), Government of India, Vijayawada. This order wag also to be in force for three months. Further on the same day the Central Government issued another notification by which in pursuance of cl. (iv) of sub-s. (3A) of s. 3 of the Act, the Central Government authorised the said Shri Krishnan to determine the average market rate of rice and paddy prevailing in any locality in the State of Andhra Pradesh.

On August 20, 1957, Shri Krishnan in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by the notifications mentioned above directed a number of rice millers in Tadepalligudem to sell to the Assistant Director (Food), Government of India, certain quantities and kinds of rice at the price calculated in accordance with cls. (iii) and (iv) of sub-s. (3A) of s. 3 of the Act. In consequence of this order, such quantities of rice as were ordered to be sold were delivered to the Assistant Director (Food) on various dates upto September 13, 1957. It may be mentioned that there was no control of price upto September 13, 1957 and in consequence the price to be paid to the rice millers had to be determined under s. 3 (3A)(iii)(c) read with s. 3(3A) (iv) of the Act. This is the first period with which we are concerned in the present appeals. It may be mentioned that prices are claimed to have been fixed by Shri Krishnan for the rice procured under the orders passed on August 20, 1957 and on subsequent dates in accordance with the provisions of the Act in September 1957. The appellants dispute that the prices have been properly fixed under the provisions of the Act and that is the first matter to be considered in these appeals, the details of which we shall refer to later.

On September 14, 1957, the Central Government issued a notification fixing the maximum price at which rice and paddy of various kinds was to be sold in any one transaction of more than ten maunds in the districts of Krishna, West Godavari and East Godavari in the State of Andhra Pradesh under cl. (c) of sub-s. (2) of s. 3 of the Act. Following this fixation the Deputy Director made requisitions between September 14, 1957 and December 29, 1957 of different varieties of rice from various appellants under the powers vested in him by the notifications already referred to under cl. (f) of sub-s. (2) of s. 3 of the Act and fixed prices therefor. He claims to have fixed price therefor in accordance with s. 3 (3A) of the Act, though actually the maximum prices fixed by the Central Government were paid. The contention of th