The main legal point established in the judgment is that the challenge to the validity of the Quality Control Order under Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 was not sustainable, and the petitioner's right to challenge the action initiated against him was acknowledged.

( 1 ) THE present case is a classic example of how the petitioner has managed to ensure that the criminal proceedings initiated against him do not even take off much less achieve any final adjudicatory stage.

( 2 ) THE petitioner claims to be a whole-sale dealer of mild steel tubes carrying on business under the name and style of M/s. Banarsi Dass and Co. In terms of a notification issued by respondent No. 1 / Union of India bearing No. GSR 374 (E) dated 08. 07. 1978 called the Mild Steel Tubes (Excluding Seamless Tubes and Tubes According to A. P. I. Specifications) (Quality Control) Order, 1978 ( hereinafter to be referred to as, the said Order ) in exercise of power under Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 ( hereinafter to be referred to as, the Act ), the following provision was made :

NO person shall by himself or by any person on his behalf manufacture or store for sale, sell or distribute any mild steel tubes having wall thickness less than the wall thickness stipulated for light class in the specified standards covered by this Order and that it would be with ISI certification mark and proved that the thickness of zinc coating on the galvanised tubes shall be in accordance with IS : 4736-1968.

( 3 ) THAT in terms of the power conferred under the said Order, an F. I. R. was registered against the petitioner resulting in investigation and thereafter a charge-sheet was filed of which cognizance was taken. It is at that stage that the petitioner filed the present writ petition and in terms of the Order dated 17. 09. 1996, further proceedings before the trial court were stayed. The order-sheet thereafter is only a saga of adjournments and undisputedly the petitioner is a major contributory towards the same. There have been about 16 adjournments taken by the petitioner for one reason or the other. No doubt, apart from this, there have been some adjournments at the request of the respondents and on a couple of occasions, the Court could not take up the matter.

( 4 ) THE present writ petition had been filed seeking to challenge the validity of the said Order and for quashing the same as also for quashing the F. I. R. The prayers are as under :

A) issue a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ, order or directions declaring the Mild Steel Tubes According to the API Specifications (Quality Control) Order, 1978 unconstitutional or declaring that the wall thickness defined in the IS numbers given in para 2 of the Mild Steel Tubes (Excluding Seamless Tubes and Tubes According to the API Specifications (Quality Control) Order, 1978 shall apply to the users in para 2 and to no other user of Mild Steel Tubes.

B) issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate order or directions directing the respondents not to act on the impugned notification in so far as it is being applied on users other than those specified in para 2 of the impugned notification.

C) issue a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ, order or directions quashing the F. I. R. No. 327/95 dated 18. 5. 95 registered at Police Station Nangloi, New Delhi under Sections 7, 10 and 55 of the Essential Commodities Act and also quash all subsequent proceedings arising from the above FIR including the challan;

( 5 ) IT is not disputed that earlier a writ petition bearing No. 3711/1993 was filed by the Delhi Steel, Tools and Hardware Traders Association, Steel Tube Dealers Association and Ors. The petitioner is admittedly a member of the Association. In the said writ petition, the following reliefs were claimed :

A) issue appropriate writ, order or direction declaring the Mild Steel Tubes (Excluding Seamless Tubes and Tubes according to the API Specifications (Quality Control) Order, 1978 unconstitutional or declaring that the wall thickness defined in the IS numbers given in para 2 of the Mild Steel Tubes (Excluding Seamless Tubes and Tubes according to API Specifications) (Quality Control) Order, 1978 shall apply to the users