Alfred Henry Lionel Leach, C.J.

1. The respondent was charged in the Court of the Joint Magistrate of Narsapur with an offence punishable under Rule 81(4) of the Defence of India Rules. His father has a shop at Narsapur in which he sells matches retail. On the 22nd April, 1943, a peon of the Tashildar at Narsapur went to this shop to buy some matches. The respondent was in charge of the shop and told the would-be customer that he had no matches in stock. This was untrue. In fact, there were large stocks of matches on the premises and additional large stocks in a godown belonging to the proprietor. On the 9th January, 1943, the Collector of West Godavari notified an order, Clause 1 of which stated that no person selling matches should withhold them from sale to any person on demand and on offer of the price fixed by the Government of India in that behalf so long as he possessed saleable stock. This notification purported to be made in the exercise of the powers conferred by Clause (b) of Sub-rule (2) of Rule 81 of the Defence of India Rules read with Government Order No. 243 Public (War) dated the 21st January, 1942. As the respondent had refused to sell any matches to the pe