- (1.) I am reading the judgment of the Court.
(2.) This is an application under Art. 32 of the Constitution of India made by Rashid Ahmed for enforcement of his fundamental right to carry on his business which is said to have been completely stopped by the respondent the Municipal Board of Kairana. The facts shortly are as follows:
(3.) The petitioner is an Artia (commission agent) carrying on wholesale business in vegetables and fruits at Kairana in the District of Muzaffarnagar in the State of Uttar Pradesh. He has been carrying on this business for the last two years at a rented shop in bazar Jame Masjid in the town of Kairana. Until recently there were no bye-laws of the respondent Board regulating the sale of vegetables and fruit within the limits of the municipality. In march 1949 the respondent Board published certain proposed bye-laws made under S. 298, U. P. Municipalities Act, 1916. These bye-laws were passed by the respondent Board on 19th April 1949. After confirmation by the commissioner these bye laws came into operation on and from 1st January 1950 In anticipation of these new bye laws coming into effect the respondent Board on 21st May 1949 auctioned 'the contract for wholesale of vegetables', presumably meaning thereby the monopoly right to do wholesale business on vegetables. The contract was given to one Habib Ahmad, who was the highest, or three years at and for Rs. 72,750-0-0 payable in equal quarterly instalments in advance. On 31st December 1949, respondent Board notified a place near Police Post Imam as the market for wholesale purchase and sale of vegetables and fruits. The petitioner applied for a license to carry on his wholesale Aratia business at his shop. On or about 22nd December 1949, the respondent Board by resolution No.188 rejected the petitioner's application. This decision was communicated to the petitioner on 9th February 1950. The order of the Chairman of the respondent Board was in these terms: "According to resolution N. 188 dated 22nd December 1949 the application of Mr. Rashid Ahmed is rejected and he be informed accordingly." No reason was assigned by the respondent Board's resolution for the rejection of the petitioner's application. We are now informed by the learned advocate for the respondent Board that the application was rejected as there was no bye law for entertaining such application or granting such license as was prayed for. The fact that the respondent Board had already auctioned the contract to Habib Ahmad might conceivable have had some bearing on this refusal to grant a licence to the petitioner. In the meantime on 28th January 1950 a notice was served on the petitioner in the following terms : "You are hereby informed that the Municipal Board, Kairana, have given the contract of wholesale purchase and sale of the vegetable, which is in force from the 1st day of January 1950. It has been repeatedly promulgated, in the city by the beat of drum, through a Khakrob (sweeper) that excepting the contractor of vegetables the Municipal Board, Kairana, nobody shall deal in wholesale purchase and sale of vegetables at a place other than the one approved by the Municipal Board aforesaid (i. e., the place near police Post Imam). As against this, you in the first place kept selling vegetables by wholesale, at the house near Jama Masjid otherwise known as Qaz wala, despite occasional verbal warnings requiring you to desist therefrom, which were conveyed through an employees of the Board. On your failure to comply you were warned by a notice in writing, dated 3rd January 1950. That notice was duly served on you. But still you paid no heed. Accordingly a complaint was lodged against you, under the byelaws, quoted above, in the Court of Pargana Officer, Tahsil Kairana. The complaint is still pending. Now your are selling wholesale by auction, vegetable at another place in Jama Masjid Bazar, which is a thoroughfare. "Your above conduct is unlawful and in contravention of the Municipal Boards Bye-law 2 pertaining to vegetable contract. Moreover, highly prejudicial as it is to the interests of both the contractor and the Board you are warned that after this notice has been served, on you, you should cease to sell anymore vegetable in breach of the bye-laws above mentioned. Herein fail not";