BHAROWAL KALAN Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners are the various cooperative societies. They are aggrieved against the action of the respondents whereby the co- operative societies are required to obtain a licence for the sale of insecticides under the provisions of Insecticides Act,1968.

(2.) It is not in dispute that the aforesaid licence is required to be taken by a person who is carrying on a business of sale of insecticides under the provisions of the aforesaid Act and the Rules. The petitioner- Societies maintain that since they are not carrying on the business of sale of insecticides and do not sell the insecticides to any non-member but merely purchase the insecticides and distribute the same to their own members,therefore, the petitioners cannot be termed to be a dealer under the provisions of the Act and Rules.

(3.) During the course of argument, learned counsel for the petitioners has placed reliance upon a Division Bench judgment dated December 10,1993 passed in CWP No.14296 of 1993 ( Guno Majra Coop. Agricultural Service Society Ltd. V.State of Punjab (Annexure P/1) to contend that in identical circumstances while interpreting the provisions of Fertiliser (Control) Order,1985, this court had held that the petitioner could not be termed as dealer since they are only distributing fertilizers to their members and,therefore, they are not required to obtain a licence under the Fertiliser (Control) Order,1985. The aforesaid order of the Division Bench was upheld by the Apex Court also when the Civil Appeal No.13713 of 1996 filed by the State of Punjab and others was dismissed on March 29,2000. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties and have also gone through the record of the case.