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2021 Supreme(Mad) 2632
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
S.M. SUBRAMANIAM, J.
The Salt Manufacturer's and Merchants Association, Tuticorin – Appellant
Versus
Union of India, Udhyog Bhawan & Others – Respondent
Case No : WP Nos.34859, 35205 to 35209, 35230 to 35235, 35263 to 35272, 35327 to 35341 of 2013, 384, 501 to 517, 639 to 645, 3268, 5121, 19585, 19586,21387 to 21389, 24299 to 24306, 25410, 27239 to 27242, 28586 to 28590, 31070, 32431 to 32439 of 2014, 13078, 13665 of 2015, 27280 of 2016, 13673, 14528, 19000 to 19002, 21316, 25646, 25647 of 2017, 19975, 1236, 20340, 14467, 14468, 20370, 27294, 32720, 32730, 32738, 32748, 32756, 32761, 32767, 32796, 32866 to 32871, 32880, 32890, 32903 of 2021 etc
Decided On : 22-12-2021
For the Petitioners:AR. L. Sundaresan, Senior Counsel, R. Natesh Kumar, T.P. Manoharan, Senior Counsel, T.M. Naveen, Rahul Balaji, Hari Radhakrishnan, Advocates.
For the Respondents: R1 to R3, R. Sankara Narayanan, Additional Solicitor General of India assisted by all the Central Government Standing Counsels.
Headnote:
Constitution of India, 1950 - Article 14 and 226 - Transparent policy - Management of saline lands - Sustainability of Notification - Lease Agreement - Salt production using sea brine or subsoil brines is one of oldest activities in India - As raw material for production of salt is sea brine, all salt works or salt factories are located along coast or alongside natural creeks that bring in sea water during high tides - Whether new proposed rate can be made applicable from retrospective date, why proposed new rate of AF/GR cannot be fixed each salt factory-wise based on productivity of area - Held, once Central Government leased out its salt land for manufacturing of salt, then it becomes a commercial venture. The salt manufacturers, no doubt, are doing business and therefore, periodical enhancement of charges and equal opportunity to all eligible persons to get lease of such salt lands are constitutional mandates - We people of India resolved equality of status and of opportunity and to promote among them all. When, we people of India resolved in the Constitution, more specifically in its preamble, no doubt, equal opportunity is foundation stone of the Indian Constitution - No doubt, salt being commodity of every day consumption, Government must control market price - Equally Central and State Governments are bound to ensure that interest of public at large is protected by implementing open auction process in order to ensure equal opportunity to citizens of our Great Nation - This Court has no hesitation in forming a definite opinion that petitioners could not able to establish any right for purpose of grant of relief, as such sought for in all these batch of writ petitions - Writ petitions dismissed.
JUDGMENT :
(Prayer: Writ Petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying for the issuance of a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, calling for the records comprised in the letter dated 09.10.2013 and numbered 04014/ 1/2012-Salt, passed by the first respondent to frame a transparent policy on management of saline lands belonging to the Central Government, keeping in mind the welfare of the numerous salt workers who are involved in the industry.)
1. The writ petitions on hand are instituted questioning the sustainability of the Notification dated 09.10.2013 issued by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Government of India, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (Salt Section).
“In a room where people unanimously maintain a conspiracy of silence, one word of truth sounds like a pistol shot”
The above words of Czeslaw Milosz would be apt as in the present case the one word of “open auction” creates panic in the minds of the salt manufacturers/writ petitioners.”
2. These batch of writ petitions are heard as the issues raised are one and the same and all the petitioners as well as the members of the some petitioner-Associations are the salt manufacturers in the State of Tamil Nadu. Thus common order is passed.
3. Salt production using sea brine or subsoil brines is one of the oldest activities in India. As the raw material for production of salt is sea brine, all the salt works or salt factories are located along the coast or alongside natural creeks that bring in sea water during high tides. Salt works or salt factories can be laid out only on saline soils that have a fair amount of clay, in as much as the salt pans i.e., the ponds for impounding sea water or sub-soil brine for storage and evaporation with the help of solar energy are laid out on such coils without using any artificial surfacing. In view of the process of manufacture of salt, salt works cannot be constructed and worked away from the coast.
4. Salt production is akin to agriculture, in as much as it is entirely seasonal and can be carried out only during the summer months, utilising sea water and/or sub-soil brine and solar energy as the only raw material. No salt manufacturing activity is carried out during the monsoon. The Salt Industry is entirely labour-oriented and labour intensive and no machinery is used except for pumping sea brine or sub-soil brine from the sea or creeks or wells dug to harness sub-soil brine.
5. State of Tamil Nadu is the second largest producer of salt in India, next to Gujarat. The salt in the State is produced from salt pans along the sea coast. Tuticorin and Vedaranyam are the two major Salt Production Centres in the State besides a few other small Production Centres in other Districts like Ramanathapuram, Nagapattinam, Villupuram, Cuddalore, Kanniyakumari, Kancheepuram etc. Tuticorin and Vedaranyam account for 80% of the State's salt production.
6. Salt is an 'Union subject' and appears as item No.58 of the Union List of the VII Schedule of the Constitution of India. The Central Government is responsible for controlling all aspects of the Salt Industry through Salt Organisations, To meet out the expenses of the Salt Department, the Government of India imposed a cess on salt in the nature of Excise Duty with effect from 01.04.1947, which was subsequently regularised by enacting Salt Cess Act, 1953.
7. Under this Act, the proceeds of the cess reduced by the cost of collection as determined by the Central Government would be utilised toward meeting expenditures incurred in connection with the Salt Organization maintained by the Central Government, besides other object in connection with the development of Salt Industry in regard to quantity and quality welfare of labour, establishment and maintenance of Model Farms, Salt Research Stations, etc. The said Act was amended in the year 1961 with a view to reduce the levy of cess payable by the Salt Works in the Public Sector on par with the Private Sector. Salt Cess R
