1974 Supreme(P&H) 164

PUNJAB & HARYANA HIGH COURT
Bal Raj Tuli and Pritam Singh Pattar JJ.
Hanuman Dall And General Mills, Hissar
Versus
State Of Haryana
Civil Writ No. 3274 of 1974,2583 of 1974,3268 of 1974,
Civil MISCELLANEOUS No. 9010 of 1974,
Decided On : NOVEMBER 8, 1974

Headnote:

The Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets Act (Punjab Act 23 of 1961) (hereinafter referred to as the Act), received the assent of the President of India on May 18, 1961, and was published in the Punjab Government Gazette (Extraordinary), Legislative Supplement dated May 26, 1961, and came into force at once. Section 23 of this Act read as under:- "Section 23. A committee may, subject to such rules as may be made by the State Government in this behalf, levy on ad valorem basis fees on the agricultural produce bought or sold by licensees in the notified market area at a rate not exceeding fifty naye paise for every one hundred rupees; Provided that- (a) no fee shall be leviable in respect of any transaction in which delivery of the agricultural produce bought or sold is not actually made; and (b) a fee shall be leviable only on the parties to a transaction in which delivery is actually made."

Fact of the Case:

The Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets Act (Punjab Act 23 of 1961) (hereinafter referred to as the Act), received the assent of the President of India on May 18, 1961, and was published in the Punjab Government Gazette (Extraordinary), Legislative Supplement dated May 26, 1961, and came into force at once. Section 23 of this Act read as under:- "Section 23. A committee may, subject to such rules as may be made by the State Government in this behalf, levy on ad valorem basis fees on the agricultural produce bought or sold by licensees in the notified market area at a rate not exceeding fifty naye paise for every one hundred rupees; Provided that- (a) no fee shall be leviable in respect of any transaction in which delivery of the agricultural produce bought or sold is not actually made; and (b) a fee shall be leviable only on the parties to a transaction in which delivery is actually made."

Finding of the Court:

The court found that the increase in the fee from one rupee to one rupee and fifty paise by Punjab Act 17 of 1973 is considered to be justified for carrying out the various purposes mentioned in Sections 26 and 28 of the Act and is upheld. However, with regard to the amounts deposited with the Punjab Public Works Department for construction of link roads, the market committees should ask for the accounts before depositing any further amounts for the purpose, as has been said above while dealing with such expenditure in the case of the market committees of Haryana.

Issues: 1. Whether the Act was reserved for the assent of the President when it was enacted in 1961 and every amendment in any provision of that Act can be effected only after obtaining the assent of the President under Arts. 213 and 254(2) of the Constitution? 2. Whether the increase in the rate of fee from one rupee to one rupee and fifty paise and then to two rupees and twenty-five paise per one hundred rupees is justified?

Ratio Decidendi: 1. The court held that the Act was reserved for the assent of the President when it was enacted in 1961 and every amendment in any provision of that Act can be effected only after obtaining the assent of the President under Arts. 213 and 254(2) of the Constitution. However, the court also held that the amendment of only that provision of an Act, containing provisions in respect of one of the matters enumerated is Concurrent List, will require the assent of tire President for its enforcement, which relates to any such matter but if it relates to the amendment of any other provision with respect to a matter not enumerated in the Concurrent List, it will not require the assent of the President for its enforcement. 2. The court held that the increase in the fee from one rupee to one rupee and fifty paise by Punjab Act 17 of 1973 is considered to be justified for carrying out the various purposes mentioned in Sections 26 and 28 of the Act and is upheld.

Final Decision: 127 writ petitions concerning the market committees of Haryana are dismissed but the parties are left to bear their own costs. 84 writ petitions with regard to the market committees of Punjab are accepted only to the extent that the Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets (Amendment) Ordinance (No. 4 of 1974), replaced by the Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets (Amendment) Act (13 of 1974), are struck down. In all other respects, the petitions are dismissed with no order as to costs.