- (1.) This appeal arises from the judgment and order of the Patna High court allowing Civil Writ Case No. 4432 of 1978, quashing a demand of the appellant for recovery of market fee under the Bihar Agricultural Produce Markets Act.
(2.) The respondent-firm was served with notice dated 29/07/1978 by the appellant-market committee to pay market fee on the sale of Zarda produce by the respondent-firm on the basis that it was included in a scheduled item under the Act by the description 'tobacco'. Since the respondent-firm refuted the liability to pay market fee mainly on the ground that Zarda was a different commodity though manufactured out of tobacco, it resisted the notice. Since the payment of market fee was insisted upon and threatening notices were issued to the respondent-firm, a writ petition was moved in the High court which resulted in acceptance as aforesaid.
(3.) When the notice aforeeferred to was issued, the expression 'agricultural produce' as defined in Section 2 (l) (a) was as follows : ' "Agricultural produce' includes all produce, whether processed or non-processed of agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, and forest specified in the Schedule. " Later the definition was amended by an amending Act of 1982 effective from 30/04/1982, the English rendering of which is as follows : ' "agricultural produce' means all produce whether processed or non-processed, manufactured or not, product of agriculture, horticulture, plantation, animal husbandry, forest, sericulture, pisciculture, livestock or poultry, as specified in the Schedule. ";