BAHARUL ISLAM - (1.) BY these writ petitions under Article 32 of the Constitution the petitioners have challenged the orders of the first respondent (the State of Jammu and Kashmir) allotting quotas of resin to respondents. According to the petitioners these orders denying similar treatment to them are arbitrary and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India.
(2.) THE material facts in the four petitions are similar. THE industries of which the petitioners are partners are admittedly small scale industries for the manufacture of resin and Turpentine oil. THE industries of the petitioners' in Writ Petitions Nos. 3465 of 1980 and 3231 of 1980, were provisionally registered but revalidated for short periods. THE industry of the petitioner in Writ Petition No. 3464 of 1980, was provisionally registered, revalidation was applied for but was not granted. THE industry of the petitioner in Writ Petition No. 5904 of 1983 was formally registered. It appears that the petitioners were applying to the Government for allotment of resin as well as raw material for their industries but the Government referring to their policy decision of 20/03/1978, refused to make any allotment of Oleo resin to them. THE petitioners in Writ Petitions Nos. 3464 and 5904 of 1980 have alleged that they purchased raw-material from the open market and somehow managed their industries to run for a certain period. Resin is admittedly a forest product extracted from "Chir trees". It has been alleged that only three States of India, namely, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir have Chir forests. The petitioners have alleged that the State of Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh stopped selling resin for the last several years in view of establishment of factories in public and joint sectors and that the State of Jammu and Kashmir was selling resin by public auction. Some time after October 1978 the State of Jammu and Kashmir, it has been further alleged, virtually created monopoly in favour of three existing industrial units and committed to supply them about 17,000, M. T. of resin for long time to come. There is a public sector unit in Jammu which consumes about 3,000 tons of resin per year. Several small scale industries, according to petitioners, were assured supply of resin even as late as 1979, notwithstanding the Government's aforesaid industrial policy. In such a situation, being unable to procure raw materials for their industries, the petitioners approached the relevant authorities including the Deputy Minister of Industry and the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir for allotment of raw-materials but to no avail. (For the sake of convenience we shall hereinafter refer only to the respondents and Annexure in W. P. No. 3231 of 1980). The petitioners further allege that while they were refused allotment of supply of raw-materials, respondent No. 1 made allotments to respondents Nos. 4 to 16 (hereinafter called "allottee respondents") although most of them were not even formally registered at the time of making the impugned orders of allotment. The petitioners contend that in the circumstances they were adversely discriminated against while respondents Nos. 4 to 16 were favoured and as such the impugned orders are liable to be struck down as violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. The impugned orders have been annexed as annexures N to Z-1. The letter of allotment (Annexure X) in favour of M/s. Sud Pine Industries (respondent No. 27) is in the following terms:- "Sub : Supply of resin to M/s. Sud Pine Industries Kunwani for their factory at Talab Jammu. Government Order No. 175 DIC/1980 dated 30-5-1980. In partial modification of Government order No. 28 - DIC of 1979 dated 20-1-1975 sanction is accorded to the supply of crude (oleo) resin 700 tonnes per annum by the Forest Deptt. to M/s Sud Pine Industries for their factory at Kunjwani Talab Jammu on the terms and conditions specified in the above said order. The supply of resin shall be subject to its being reviewed by the Government with due regards to its availability from year to year. By order of the Govt. of J. and K. Sd/- (Sheikh Ghulam Rasool) Secretary to Government." The orders as per Annexures L to W in favour of respondents 17 to 26 are identical in material parts. It will be sufficient if the material portion of Annexure N is quoted. It runs thus : "Sanction is accorded to the supply of crude (oleo) resin by the Forest Department to M/s. Kashmir R and T works, Srinagar, for their factory at Srinagar, subject to the terms and conditions of the agreement to be entered into between the Forest Department and the party and on the following specific conditions : 1. The Forest Department will supply Crude (oleo) rasin @ 700 TPA to the firm from the date the Unit is formally registered subject to its being reviewed with due regard to its availability from year to year; 2. The resin will be supplied @ Rupees 320/- per quintal, unless otherwise reviewed on year to year basis, 3. The cost of empty tin will be charged @ Rs. 5.00 per tin in addition to the above rate; 4. By order of the Government at Jammu and Kashmir. Sd/- Sheikh Ghulam Rasool Secretary to Government" (emphasis added)
(3.) IT is obvious that the industries of these respondents were not formally registered at the time of the impugned orders of allotment. The State of Jammu and Kashmir (Respondent No. 1) have filed a counter affidavit. They have not denied the material allegations of the petitioners but they say that the allocations have been made in order to implement the industrial policy of the State Government as enunciated in a "Report of the Development Review Committee, Jammu and Kashmir" a committee headed by Shri L. K. Jha, the Governor of the State. Respondent No. 1 has quoted from the report the 'Goals' of the industrial policy which read : "The balanced economic development of the State will obviously, be one of the foremost concerns of the Government. They would like to emphasis maximum self-sufficiency and self-reliance consistently with the need to promote the requisite and desirable degree of inter-dependence with other parts of the country. The objective will be to secure the most prudent and beneficial utilization of the natural resources and skills peculiar to this State; to achieve the maximum possible rate of economic growth, consistently with the need to secure a degree of balanced regional development as well as balance between the rural areas and the urban, to maximise State per capita income, and to generate the maximum employment potential. Many areas of the State are as cut off, isolated and poor as they were at the dawn of independence. We have to improve the living standards in these specially backward areas for whom in terms of the quickest mode of transportation, Srinagar is more distant than the State is from Kerala. Many sections of the community similarly, like Scheduled Castes, Gujara and Bakarwalas and other backward class need to be assisted in their speedy uplift. Ladakh needs a visible acceleration of the tempo of its development so that our people in this far flung and difficult frontier area can realise the full fruits of development in the shortest possible time". Respondent No. 1 has given the districtwise break-up of the applications received from different regions. It is as follows : JUDGEMENT_270_2_1981Html1.htm They have also shown the allotments of resin districtwise. The industries of the respondents Nos. 4 to 16 are also small scale industries. The break-up of the small scale industries as given in Annexure R. II (in W. P. No. 3464) shows that Jammu has the largest number of units namely, 10, Second comes Srinagar with 4, then come Udampur with 3, Kathua (in Jammu Division), Anantnag and Baramulla (in Kashmir Division) with one each. Rajouri in Jammu Division has none. It appears that the industries of the present applicants are also in Jammu region and those of respondents Nos. 4 to 16 also appear to have been located in the Jammu region. In their affidavit at para 3 respondent No. 1 has stated that all the applications for allocation of resin were considered from time to time at various levels by the State Government and it was decided on 30/05/1980 as follows : (a) The allotment of resin to the existing unit should be rationalised, (b) Applications received from various districts be considered for allotment of resin. The State Government have submitted that they made no promise of supply of raw-material in favour of any of the petitioners. The petitioners have submitted, in our opinion, correctly, that as there were already 10 units functioning in small scale sector in the Jammu region and inasmuch as the allottee respondents' industries were also located in the Jammu region, allocations in their favour would be inconsistent with the Government's industrial policy. ;