Court can strike down the law opposed to direction principles of State policy.

Mishra, J.:

This appeal under clause 15 of the Letters Patent of this Court is preferred against the judgment in W.P.No. 19417 of 1990. A learned single Judge of this Court has dismissed the writ petition holding that it is hot possible to declare that Tamil Nadu Act 12 1990 is ultra vires the Constitution of India.

2. The petitioner/appellant is the president of the Tamil Nadu Freedom Fighters ’ Association, a Society registered under the Societies ’ Registration Act. Earlier to the instant petition, filed W.P.No.1852 of 1990 seeking to restrain the State of Tamil Nadu from manufacturing and thereby doing business or trade in the so-called cheap liquor. That was dismissed on the ground that the State Government was acting under the Tamil Nadu Prohibition (Amendment Act. 12 of 1990 and so long as the validity of the said Act not challenged, no writ would lie. The petitioner appellant then filed the instant petition.

3. We have the advantage of the return of the respondent herein in the writ petition in short a history of various amendments to the law is available. What is gathered from

statements therein can be summarised as follows: The Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act

which inter alia operated to curb the production, possession and use of liquor or intoxicating drug for all purposes other than medicinal, scientific, industrial or such like purposes amended and some provisions suspended with effect from 30th August, 1971 in so far related to matters in respect of which the State Legislature had exclusive power to law, vide Sec.2 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition (Suspension of Operation) Act 1971, Nadu Act 33 of 1971. The State Legislature however revived the provisions of the said except Sec.4(1)(j) and Sec.4-A thereof in so far as they related to toddy and consumption, vide Sec.3 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition (Suspension of Operation) Act (Tamil Nadu Act 37 of 1973). It underwent another amendment on and from the September 1974, vide Tamil Nadu Prohibition (Revival of Operation) Amendment Act Tamil Nadu Act 34 of 1974 by which the operation ’ of the Tamil Nadu ’ (Suspension of Operation), Act, 1973, Tamil Nadu Act 37 of 1973 was ’ suspended. In the year 1981, again some amendments were made introducing Sec.17(b) and Sec.17(c) in the Act authorising the grant of licence for manufacture, sale by wholesale and retail of various kinds of liquor followed by Tamil Nadu Act 33 of 1986 which repealed all the rules under the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act 1937 for grant of any licence in respect of any privilege for manufacture, supply by wholesale, selling by retail of arrack/toddy with effect from 1.1.1987 and thereafter Tamil Nadu Ordinance 2 of 1990 was promulgated and published in Tamil Nadu Government Gazette Extraordinary dated 7,3.1990 which was duly replaced by Tamil Nadu Act 12 of 1990. This brought into operation the phenomenon of the State manufacturing liquor and selling it. 4. Besides the previous amendments that still existed in the Act as part of the Act, the impugned Act introduced various amendments including a change of the expression made foreign spirits ’ in Sec.3(1) of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act 1937 by the expression ‘ country liquor or Indian-made foreign spirits ’ and the expression ‘ or pot ’ substituted by ‘ sachet or pot ’ in clause (1-A) thereof. It further introduced a new clause in the said Sec.No.4 defining country liquor to mean spirit manufactured and compounded in India from rectified spirits and made in any colour but not to include denatured spirits and amended clause (56-A) thereof substituting for the expression ‘ Indian-made foreign spirits expression ‘ country liquor, Indian-made foreign spirits ’ , amended clause 7 A by adding the expression ‘ but does not include country liquor ’ after the expression ‘ other liquors consisting of or containing spirits ’ , and also amended clause (9) by substituting the expression by the expression ‘ country liquor ’ . Further amendments in the Prohibition A