BALAJI INDUSTRIES Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this petition, petitioners have filed a joint petition since the common question of law and facts are involved and sought for to quash the Electrical Wires, Cable appliances and Protection Devices and Accessories (Quality Control) Order 2003, issued vide Notification dated 17-2-2003 as per An-nexure 'a' and also to declare that Order 3 of the Electric Wires, Cables appliances and Protection Devices and Accessories (Quality control) Order 2003 as illegal and for such other reliefs.

(2.) ACCORDING to the petitioners, they registered themselves as a small-scale industry and the authority has granted permission to establish small-scale industry and the department has given the permanent registration number. The Government has issued notification acting under Section 14 of the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986 and by virtue of the said order, it has included electrical wires, cables, appliances protection devices and accessories and prescribed the standards wherein it has made it obligatory for compulsory registration for the manufacture of the products and also to obtain a license under the Act and that the process of manufacturing the product should be according to the Act and Order. According to petitioners, clause (3) of the Order at Annexure 'a' prohibits manufacture, storage and distribution of products and clause (3) (2) provides for prohibition from using the products and that they must be destroyed within three months from the date of notification. Some of the petitioners are said to be engaged in manufacturing the electrical switch gears namely electric motor starters and some of them are dealers of switch gears; they said to have established the industry with a small investment and running the same over decades; the switch gears manufactured by them are said to be of good quality and are second to none in the market, there are said to be no complaints whatsoever in the market as to the quality of switch gears manufactured by them and also that they have gained goodwill in the market; the petitioners as well the labourers are depending on the earning from the units established by them; they said to have established the infrastructure for manufacture of switch gears by investing their lifetime savings and borrowings. The respondents for the first time have included the product and issued a notification as per Annexure 'a' prescribing the standard for manufacturing switch gears; the process of manufacturing of the petitioners' switch gear is completely different from the process prescribed in the order, rather the switch gears manufactured/produced by the petitioners are more worthy and there are no instances of danger to human life; by this impugned notification petitioners are prohibited to manufacture, sell and distribute the product and it is mandated for destroying the raw material and finished products acquired and possessed by them. It is their grievance that the prohibition imposed on them violates the fundamental right guaranteed under Article 19 ( 1 ) (g) of the constitution of India, in ordering to destroy the components, raw materials and accessories acquired and possessed by them for valuable consideration, without paying adequate compensation and as such Order 3 passed is arbitrary and that Annexure 'a' is a subordiland the prohibition contained in the impugned order at anne. xure A is illegal, arbitrary and without authority of law and violative of article 14 of the Constitution and the same cannot be sustained.

(3.) HEARD the learned Counsel appearing for the petitioners and the learned Counsel appearing for Central Government.