JUDGMENT :

Sudhanshu Dhulia, J.

1. Two questions arise in these appeals for our determination. The first question is whether “ghee” is a “product of livestock” under the provisions of The Andhra Pradesh (Agricultural Produce and Livestock) Markets Act, 1966 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) and the second would be whether the Government notification (G.O. Ms. No.286 dated 05.07.1994), which inter alia notifies “ghee” as one of the products of livestock for the purpose of regulation of purchase and sale of “ghee” in all notified market areas was published after due compliance of the procedure contemplated under the provisions of the Act?

2. In the erstwhile State of Andhra Pradesh, the above Act was brought with the purpose to consolidate and amend the laws regulating the purchase and sale of agricultural produce, livestock and products of livestock, along with establishment of markets in connection therewith. The aim was to secure effective and remunerative price of commodities by bringing producers and traders face to face thereby eliminating middlemen and do away with some other earlier unethical trade practices, which were exploiting agriculturists and farmers. In other words, it was a farmer friendly legislation. The commodities which were to be regulated were not only agricultural produce but also livestock as well as products of livestock. Whereas livestock has been defined under Section 2(v) and products of livestock has been defined under Section 2(xv). Both the Sections are reproduced below :

(v) 'livestock' means cows, buffaloes, bullocks, bulls, goats and sheep, and includes poultry, fish and such other animals as may be declared by the Government by notification to be livestock for the purposes of this Act;

(xv) 'products of livestock' means such products of livestock as may be declared by the Government by notification, to be products of livestock for the purposes of this Act.

3. Under sub-Section (1) of Section 3 of the Act, the Government has to initially publish a draft notification declaring its intention of regulating purchase and sale of proposed notified agricultural produce, livestock or products of livestock in an area. It is only after hearing objections from public, it finally publishes its notification under sub-Section (3) of Section 3 declaring the area to be a ‘notified area’ in respect of such agricultural produce, livestock and products of livestock. Under Sub-Section (4) of Section 3 the Government also has a power to exclude from a notified area, any area earlier included in it.

4. After a notification is made under Section 3, there comes the process of notification under Section 4 of the Act. Under Section 4 (1) of the Act, a process is given wherein the Government further notifies a market committee for every notified area. Under Sub Section (3) of Section 4, the market committee is empowered to establish markets for the purchase and sale of any notified agricultural produce, livestock or products of livestock. After the establishment of markets by the market committee under Section 4 (3), the Government declares by a notification under Section 4 (4),¹[Section 4 (4) stands omitted vide the Andhra Pradesh (Agricultural Produce and Livestock) Markets (Amendment) Act, 2015.], the ‘notified market area’ for the purposes of the Act in respect of the notified products.

In short, the above provisions provide that first there will be a larger physical unit called “notified area” wherein the market committee shall establish markets and thereafter, through a notification u/s 4 (4), the Govt. declares a “notified market area” in respect of the notified products.

5. In the year 1968, the State of Andhra Pradesh had issued a notification u/s 3 (3) of the Act declaring “notified areas” in the State where “ghee” was included in Schedule II of the said notification as a livestock product. Thereafter, in the year 1971, a notification u/s 4 (4) was published, which declared the ‘notified market areas’ in respect of