Sankar Prasad Mitra, C.J. - (1.) THIS is an appeal from a judgment of Salil K. Roy Chowdhury J., delivered on the 20th and 21st Dec., 1973 dismissing an application for setting aside an award. It is an award of the Tribunal o Arbitration of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry being Award No. 248 made on the 18th March, 1952. The petitioner before the learned Trial Judge, who is now the appellant before us, made inter alia, the following prayers : "(a) That the said purported Contract No. B/713 dated 31st May 1951 and/or the Bought Note and Sold Note relating thereto and the arbitration agreement contained therein be declared null and void and/or the validity and/or the existence and/or the effect of the said purported contract and the arbitration agreement contained therein be determined by this Hon'ble Court; (b) That the purported reference and the said pretended Award of the Tribunal of Arbitration of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry being purported Award No. 248 dated 18th March 1952 be declared null and void, inoperative, invalid and/or of no effect whatsoever; (c) That the said purported Award be set aside." The application it is stated has been made under Sections 33 and 30 of the Arbitration Act, 1940.
(2.) WHEN the contract, being contract N. B/713 dated the 31st May 1951, was entered into it is common case that the Raw Jute (Central Jute Board and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1951 (hereinafter called "the Act") was in operation. In the preamble to the Act it was stated : "Whereas a crisis has arisen in the Jute industry on account of the owners of Jute Mills not being able to secure adequate supplies of raw jute at the maximum prices fixed under the West Bengal Jute (Control of Prices) Act, 1950. And whereas it is expedient to set up a Central Jute Board in West Bengal for ensuring equitable supply of raw jute to the owners of different jute mills. And whereas it is also expedient to make certain other miscellaneous provisions for the better regulation of the jute trade and for the protection of cultivators of jute :-- It is hereby enacted as follows:" In an extraordinary issue of the Calcutta Gazette published on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 1951, at p. 82 of Part IV the Raw Jute (Central Jute Board and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, 1951 was published. It is necessary to go through the statement of objects and reasons placed before the legislature by the late Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy who was the Member-in-charge of the Bill. In this statement it has been observed : "Though the production of raw jute in India during the current season has been large enough to meet the consumption requirements of the jute mills for several months this year, there were allegations of raw jute selling at prices much above the maximum fixed by Government under the West Bengal Jute (Control of Prices) Act, 1950. The mills were making purchases individually and not through any central agency. This led to illegal transactions in jute and also resulted in an uneven supply of the raw material to the different jute mills. As a consequence stocks of raw jute of some of the mills fell far short of their requirements, so much so that there was an apprehension of their closing down at least for some time. To put a stop to these illegal transactions and to ensure a steady and equitable supply of raw jute to the jute mills at controlled prices, and also to make certain other miscellaneous provisions for the better regulation of the jute trade and for the protection of the jute cultivators, this State Government in consultation with the Government of India and with the sanction of the President, promulgated the Raw Jute (Central Jute Board and Miscellaneous Provi-visions) Ordinance, 1950, on the 14th Dec., 1950. Under the Ordinance a Central Jute Board has been established with the representatives of various associations of jute mills, balers and dealers. Sellers were, however, given time up to and including the 29th Dec., 1950 for the performance of their existing contracts with the jute mills. The Central Jute Board commenced functioning from the 30th Dec. 1950, whereafter no mill can purchase or take delivery of raw jute direct from any seller or dealer or baler except through the intervention of the Central Jute Board. Henceforth all offers of sale or supply of raw jute to jute mills will, in the first instance, have to be made to the Central Jute Board which will then consider the offers and issue orders on sellers to make contracts with the jute mills selected by the Board, at controlled prices. This Bill has been drafted on the same lines. What is prohibited under the provisions of this Bill is a direct contract between a seller and a jute mill, but transactions in the other sectors of the trade, such as between dealers and balers, may take place freely as before. Provisions have been made in the Bill to prescribe minimum prices for raw jute to safeguard the interests of the growers. There is also a provision for licensing all holders of raw jute."
(3.) FROM the preamble and the state-ment of objects and reasons it is clear that the State Government was interested in equitable supply of raw jute to all jute mills at controlled prices. A Central Jute Board was constituted and all direct contracts between a seller and a jute mill were prohibited except through the intervention of the Central Jute Board.;