Ojha, J. - (1.) The petitioners in these writ petitions are licenced dealers having factories and manufacturing units at Panipat in the State of Haryana and consume sheep hair for manufacturing woollen fabrics and blankets. In order to carry on their trade they purchase sheep-hair to get yarn manufactured out of it for being used in its turn for manufacturing woollen fabrics and blankets.
(2.) The only question urged in these writ petitions is as to whether sheep-hair was an agricultural produce within the meaning of the said term as defined under S. 2(a) of the Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets Act, (1961) (hereinafter referred to as the Act) so as to attract the provisions of the said Act to it. The term "agricultural produce" according to its definition contained under S. 2(a) of the Act means all produce, whether processed or not, of agricultural, horiticulture, animal husbandry or forest as specified in the Schedule to the Act. On its plain meaning, therefore, only such produce as is specified in the Schedule to the Act shall fall within the term "agricultural produce". Section 38 of the Act confers power on the State Government, by notification, to add to the Schedule any other item of agricultural produce or amend or omit any item of such produce specified therein. The relevant items in the schedule on which reliance has been placed by learned counsel for the petitioners in support of the contention that sheep-hair was not an agricultural produce are Items 41, Wool (Oon), 75. Goathair and 75. Camel-hair.
(3.) It has been urged by learned counsel for the petitioners that even though Goat-hair and Camel-hair have been included in the Schedule, Sheep-hair had not been so included and consequently sheep-hair was not an agricultural produce within the meaning of the Act and the insistence of the authorities that the petitioners should obtain a licence and pay market fee with regard to their transaction in respect of sheet-hair was unjustified. With regard to Item No. 41 namely Wool (Con), it was urged firstly that wool is the manufactured item of sheep-hair and not sheep-hair itself and secondly the wordly ,wool' according to its dictionary meaning is the soft undercoat of various animals including sheep. Reference in this behalf has been made to the Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms - Mc. Graw Hill. According to it wool is a textile fibre made from raw wool characterised by absorbency resiliency and insulation. It further states that wool is the soft undercoat of various animals such as sheep, angora, goat, camel, alpaca, llama and vicuna.;