TMI Blog1954 (1) TMI 26X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... oses of the regulation is to raise revenue. By the provisions of section 24, duties can be imposed on the manufacture, import, export and transport of liquor and other excisable articles. Revenue is also collected by the grant of contracts to carry on' trade in liquors and these contracts are sold by auction. The grantee is given a licence on payment of the auction price. The regulation specifically authorises this. It is not a fee levied without authority of law. Appeal dismissed. - Petition No. 232 of 1953 - - - Dated:- 13-1-1954 - MAHAJAN, MEHAR CHAND, MUKHERJEA, B.K.,BOSE, VIVIAN, HASAN, GHULAM AND JAGANNADHADAS, B., JJ. For the Petitioner : B.D. Sharma For the Respondent : M.C. Setalvad, Attorney-General for India (PorusA. Mehta, with him) JUDGMENT MAHAJAN C. J.- This petition under article 32 of the Constitution of India arises in the following circumstances. The Collector of Excise, Ajmer, respondent No. 3, on the 16th March, 1953, held an auction sale of " Chang Gate country liquor shop, Beawar," for the year 1953-54 -pursuant to the rules framed under' Excise Regulation I of 1915. The petitioner and respondent No. 5, Chhoga La], offered bids at the au ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... his trade. (5)That the provisions of the Excise Regulation and the auction rules made thereunder were ultra vires as the same purport to grant monopoly of trade to a few persons and are thus inconsistent with article 19(1) (g) of the Constitution and that the provisions of the regulation regarding levy of licence fee with the avowed object of raising a big source of revenue also seriously affected the fundamental rights of the petitioner under article 19(1) (g) of the Constitution. On these allegations the petitioner prayed for a writ of mandamus or a writ in the nature thereof or a direction or order on respondents Nos. I to 4 directing them, (a) not to levy any duty or fee for the purpose of raising revenues for the benefit of the State by holding auction sales, (b) not to grant monopoly in the trade to a selected few individuals, but to grant licences freely on application, and (c) to grant a licence to the petitioner to deal in country liquor with his place of business at or near Chang Gate, Beawar. In the alternative a mandamus was asked directing the officer concerned either to confirm the next lower bid of the petitioner and to grant the licence for Chang Gate liq ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r may (a) establish a distillery in which spirit may be manufactured under a licence granted under section 13 on such conditions as the Chief, Commissioner may impose; (b) discontinue any such distillery; (c) license, on such conditions as the Chief Commissioner may impose, the construction and working of a distillery or brewery; (d) establish or license a warehouse wherein any excisable article may be deposited-and kept without payment of duty; and (e) discontinue any such warehouse. Section 15 provides that without the sanction of the Chief Commissioner no excisable article shall be removed from any distillery, brewery, warehouse or other place of storage. Section 18 says that the Chief Commissioner may lease to an person, on such conditions and for such period as he may think fit, the right of 'manufacturing or of supplying by wholesale, or of both, or of selling by wholesale or by retail, or of manufacturing or of supplying by whole, or of both and of selling by retail any country liquor or intoxicating drug within any specified area. Restrictions regarding the manufacture and sale of liquors in cantonments and other places are found in some other provisions of the regulation. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... vailing in that trade. It is obvious that these factors must differ from trade to trade and no hard and fast rules concerning all trades can be laid down. It can also not ,be denied that the State has the power to prohibit trades which are illegal or immoral or injurious to the health and welfare of the public. Laws prohibiting trades in noxious or dangerous goods or trafficking in women cannot be held to be illegal as enacting a prohibition and not a mere regulation. The nature of the business is, therefore, an important element in deciding the reasonableness of the restrictions. The right of every citizen to pursue any lawful trade or business is obviously subject to such reasonable conditions as may be deemed by the governing authority of the country essential to the safety, health, peace, order and morals of the community. Some occupations by the noise made in their pursuit, some by the odors they engender, and some by the dangers accompanying them, require regulations as to the locality in which they may be conducted. Some, by the dangerous character of the articles used, manufactured or sold, require also special qualifications in the parties permitted to use, manufacture or ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ate or of a citizen of the United States. As it is a business attended with danger to the community, it may, as already said, be entirely prohibited, or be permitted under such conditions as will limit to the utmost its evils. The manner and extent of regulation rest in the discretion of the governing authority. That authority may vest in such officers as it may deem proper the power of passing upon applications for permission to carry it on, and to issue licences for that purpose. It is a matter of legislative will only." These observations have our entire concurrence and they completely negative the contention raised on behalf of the petitioner. The provisions of the regulation purport to regulate trade' in liquor in all its different spheres and are valid. The contention that the effect of some of these provisions is to enable Government to confer monopoly rights on one or more persons to the exclusion of others and that creation of such monopoly rights could not be sustained under article 19 (6) is again without force. Reliance was placed on the decision in Rashid Ahmad v. Municipal Board of Kairana((1950) S.C.J. 324). That decision is no authority for the Proposition conte ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ses this. It is not a fee levied without authority of law as was the situation in Rashid Ahmad's case ([1950] S.C.J. 324). As regards the other contentions of the learned counsel, it is sufficient to say that if there has been any breach of the rules framed under the regulation by the officers concerned, the remedy for such breaches is provided for in the regulation itself. Mere irregularities committed in conducting an auction sale cannot be said to have abridged the petitioner's fundamental rights and so article 32 is not attracted. It is open to the petitioner under article 226 to I approach theHigh Court for a mandamus if the officers concerned have conducted themselves not in accordance with law or if they have acted in excess of their jurisdiction. The same is the answer to the petitioner's next contention that the sale could not be confirmed by the Minister and that under the rules it was only the Chief Commissioner who was authorised to confirm it. Then point of discrimination was not seriously argued before us. For the reasons given above we see no validity in this application and we accordingly dismiss it with costs. Petition dismissed. - - TaxTMI - TMITax - Centr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
