JUDGMENT

V. RAMASWAMI, J.:—In this petition under Article 32 of the Constitution, the petitioners have questioned the constitutional validity of Section 5 of the Poisons Act, 1919. (1 2 of 1919) (hereinafter calledthe Act). The grounds on which the vires of the provisions is attacked are that the section gives an unguided, unchannllized and arbitrary power to the State Government to include any substance as poison for the purpose of restriction to be imposed on the possession for sale and sale of the same. It was further contended that the restriction imposed on possession for sale and sale were not reasonable restrictions. The petitioners have also taken the plea that though the Act is a Central enactment it is possible of unjust and unjustified discriminatory application as it is left to each State Government to determine what substance they would include as poison and regulated and the decision in one State to include the substance as poison is not automatically made applicable to the other States.

2. The object of the enactment is to regulate the possession for sale and the sale whether wholesale or retail of poisons and the importation of the same. In other words, it is intend