R PIYARELALL IMPORT AND EXPORT LTD Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners in this writ petition seek to challenge the constitutional validity of the Destructive Insects and Pests (Amendment and Validation) Act, 1992 (hereinafter to be referred to as the Validation Act, 1992). The challenge is on the ground that the Parliament has no competence to overrule a binding judicial pronouncement between the petitioners and the respondents.

(2.) The first petitioner M/s.R. Piyarelall Import and Export Limited is a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956. For the sake of convenience, we shall refer the first petitioner as the company . The second petitioner is the Director and Shareholder of the company.

(3.) The company carries on business inter alia in the imports and sale of pulses. Around the month of September, 1991, the company imported consignments of pulses, in particular 699.668 metric tonnes of toor whole crop F.A.G. The company also imported several other consignments during the period October, 1989 to February, 1992, details of which have been set out in Exhibit A". The company was not permitted clearance of the said consignments for want of no objection certificate from the Director of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India (respondent No.2) in terms of the provisions of Plants, Fruits and Seeds (Regulation of Import into India) Order, 1989. Under the provisions of the Order, 1989 the company was required to pay the inspection fee for obtaining the no objection certificate. Order, 1989 was issued under Section 3(1) of the Destructive Insects and Pests Act, 1914 (hereinafter to be referred to as the Act of 1914).