K.N.WANCHOO, J.

(1) THIS petition raises a question as to the constitutionality of the Bombay Agricultural Produce Markets Act, No. XXII of 1939 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) and the Rules framed thereunder. The petitioners are businessmen of Ahmedabad. Their case is that by a notification under the Act the whole area within a radius of 12 miles of Ahmedabad city was declared to be a market area under s. 4 of the Act for the purposes of the Act in respect of certain agricultural produce from 1/06/1948. At the same time a market yard and a market proper were established for dealing in the commodities mentioned above; and simultaneously a market committee was established under s. 5 of the Act for the Ahmedabad market area by the name of `The Agricultural Produce Market Committee, Ahmedabad.` By later notifications certain other agricultural produce was declared to be regulated under the provisions of the Act in this market area. ID 1959 a locality known as the `Kalupur market` in the Telia Mill compound near the railway station Ahmedabad was declared to be a sub-market yard for the purposes of the Act. The petitioners apparently were carrying on business in the Kalupur market and therefore after the declaration of that area as sub-market yard, the market committee required the petitioners to take out licences under the Act without which they were not to be allowed to carry on business. The petitioners contend that the various provisions of the Act and the Rules and bye-laws framed thereunder place unreasonable restrictions on their right to carry on trade in agricultural produce and thus infringe their fundamental right guaranteed under Art. 19 (1)(g) of the Constitution. In particular, the heavy fees payable to the market committee for taking out licences in order to trade in various markets impose a heavy burden on trade in the regulated commodities resulting in an unreasonable restriction on the right of the petitioners to carry on their trade. Further the declaration of the market area and the establishment of market yard and sub-market yards has resulted in compelling producers of agricultural commodities to carry their produce for long distances, thus imposing an unreasonable restriction on their right to carry on trade. The petitioners thus assail the main provisions of the Act and some of the provisions of the Rules and the bye-laws framed by the market committee, which we shall specify at their proper place later. The petitioners also contend that the State of Bombay has never required the market committee to establish a market as required by s. 5AA of the Act and no market has in law been established by the market committee and therefore the market committee has no power to issue licences and to exercise other powers conferred under the Act on market committees. They therefore pray that the Act and the Rules and the bye laws framed thereunder may be declared unconstitutional, ultra vires and void. In the alternative a direction should be issued to the respondents, in particular the market committee, not to enforce the provisions of the Act, the Rules and the bye-laws against the petitioners so long as a market has not been established as required under the law.

(2) THE petition has been opposed on behalf of the respondents, and their contention is that the Act, the Rules and the bye laws provide reasonable restrictions on the fundamental right to carry on trade under Art. 19(1)(g). It is further contended that a market has been established as required by law, and therefore the market committee in particular has the right to enforce all the provisions of the Act, the Rules and the bye-laws and to insist upon the petitioners taking out licences as provided therein.

(3) BEFORE we consider the attack made on the constitutionality of the Act, the Rules arid the bye-laws framed thereunder, we should like to refer to the main provisions of the Act and the scheme of regulation provided in it. The Ac