K.N. Seth, J. - (1.) IN these petitions the Petitioners have challenged the validity of the U.P. Coarse Foodgrains (Levy) Order, 1974 on the ground that the provisions in the impugned order fixing the price of jwar, bajra and maize to be sold to the State Government at the scheduled price of Rs. 74/ -per quintal were ultra vires the powers of the State Government and the Petitioners were entitled to be paid for the levy coarse foodgrains at the market rate prevailing in the locality. Reliance was placed on a decision of this Court in M/s. Sitaram Jwala Prasad v. State of U.P. : AIR 1975 All 272.
(2.) IN the aforesaid case, this Court upheld the validity of the order on all other grounds except on the question of fixation of price. After the judgment of the Division Bench, referred to above, the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, was amended in its application to Uttar Pradesh by the Essential Commodities (Uttar Pradesh Amendment) Ordinance, 1975 (U.P. Ordinance No. 5 of 1975). Subsequently the Ordinance was replaced by the Essential Commodities (U.P. Amendment) Act, 1975 (U.P. Act XVIII of 1975). By the Amending Act, referred to above, Section 3 of the principal Act was amended with retrospective effect. For Clause (f) of Sub -section (2) of Section 3 the following clause was substituted: (f) for requiring any person holding in stock, or engaged in the manufacture or production of, or in the business of buying or selling, any essential commodity to sell the whole or a specified part of the quantity held in stock or manufactured or produced or likely to be manufactured or produced by him or received or likely to be received by him in the course of said business of buying or selling, to the Central Government or a State Government or to an officer or agent of such Government or to such other person or class of persons and in such circumstances as may be specified in the Order : Explanation: In order relating to foodgrains made with reference to this clause.(I) may specify the price fixed by Central Government in this behalf after taking into account the recommendations, if any, of the Agricultural Price Commission as the amount which shall be paid for the foodgrains required to be sold under the order. (II) may fix the quantity to be sold by each producer with reference to the area under cultivation for production of the particular foodgrains to which the order relates. In Sub -section (3), for Clause (c), the following clauses were substituted and were deemed always to have been substituted; namely (c) in the case of foodgrains, where neither Clause (a) nor Clause (b) applies, the amount, if any, specified in the said order made with reference to Clause (f) of Sub -section (2). (d) where neither Clause (a), nor Clause (b) nor Clause (c) applies, the price calculated at the market rate prevailing in the locality at the date of sale.
(3.) IN Section 3 -B, after Clause (i), the following clause was inserted and was deemed always to have been inserted, namely (i -a) in the case of foodgrains, where no controlled price is fixed by an order made with reference to Clause (c) of Sub -section (2), the amount specified in the said order made with reference to Clause (f) of Sub -section (2) for such grade or variety of foodgrains.;