A consumer who imports, purchases, or stores coal for his own use is not a 'dealer' within the meaning of the U.P. Coal Control Order, 1977.

B. Kumar, J.

1. The petitioner is a Company which carries on business of manufacturing of chemicals. In the course of its business the petitioner has to consume coal for running the factory. Coal is an essential commodity and its export, purchase, sale and storage etc. are governed by U. P. Coal Control Order, 1977 issued under Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act. The U. P. Coal Control Order, 1977 provides for issue of licence under clause 4 for import and for carrying on business as a coal agent or a coal depot holder. The State of U. P. issued a G. O. on September 19, 1985, a true copy of which has been filed as Annexure-1 to the writ petition saying that industrial units will have to take licence under Coal Control Order, 1977 for the purpose of selling the surplus coal or for disposal of coal dust etc. A direction was issued to ensure compliance of the said G. O. the petitioner has challenged the said G. O. and has prayed for quashing of the same. The Standing Counsel was required to obtain a copy of another G. O. dated June 6, 1985, a reference of which has been made in the G. O. dated 19-9-85, annexure-1, to the writ petition. He has produced the G. O. dated June 6, 1985 which has been placed on the record.

2. Since the question involved in the writ petition is short one and purely legal, with the consent of the learned counsels for the parties, we propose to dispose of the writ petition finally. An indication to this effect was made earlier when the standing counsel was given time to seek instructions that the petition shall be finally disposed of on the next date.

The case of the petitioner is that it consumes coal for running its factory. The petitioner gets the coal on the recommendation of the General Manager, District Industries Centre, Muzaffarnagar. In paragraphs 4 and 5 of the writ petition it has been stated that sometimes different quality of coal is supplied to the petitioner instead of the quality of coal which is required by the petitioner for its factory. Such coal is of no use to the petitioner and it rejects the same. A huge quantity of coal dust is also collected during the storage, loading and unloading of coal and further while breaking the coal into pieces of the required size. The rejected coal and the coal dust is of no use to the petitioner, hence the petitioner disposes of the same. But the opposite parties according to the petitioner, are placing impediment in the way of the petitioner in selling rejected coal and the coaldust as, according to G.O. issued by opposite party no. 1, the licence under the U. P. Coal Control Order, 1977 is required to be taken for the purpose.

3. The contention raised on behalf of the petitioner is that the petitioner does not deal in coal. It gets coal for industrial consumption which is exempted from different provisions of the U. P. Coal Control Order, 1977 under clause 3 (B) of the Order. The other contention is that the direction contained in Annexure-1 that before transferring such coal prior permission from the District Magistrate will have to be taken is invalid inasmuch as the District Magistrate has nothing to do with the coal meant for industrial consumption. The Controller of Coal for the purposes of coal for industrial consumption is Director of Industries. Direction, if any, could only be issued by the State Coal Controller. The State Government has no such power to issue direction under the Coal Control Order, 1977.

4. The learned counsel for the petitioner has drawn our attention to the definition of word "Dealer" under clause 2 (d) of the Coal Control Order, 1977, which reads as follows :-

" "Dealer" means a person carrying on as a principal or agent, whether separately or conjunction with some other business, the business of import, purchase or storage for sale and sale of coal, in wholesale and granted a licence in From ' B ' and commonly known and herein referred to as Coal Agent or in retail and granted a licence in From ' C ' and