D.N.SINHA, J. - (1.) THE petitioner in this application is a well -known Company which has installations at Circular Garden Reach Road, Paharpur Road, Calcutta and Budge Budge for the storage of petroleum, petroleum products and kerosene. In the aforesaid installations the petitioner company stores petroleum by virtue of licenses issued under the Petroleum Act (India Act XXX of 1934). The licenses in force on the relevant dates were as follows: (I) Paharpur installation -License No. Ben -197 d/ - 28 -2 -48 and License No. Ben -1200 d/ - 9 -5 -1939. . (II) Circular Garden Reach Road Installation -License No. Ben -1202 d/ - ..... .... ... ..... ... (III) Budge Budge Installation -License No. Ben -182 d/ - .. .. ... .. ... ... .. .. .. ... The Petroleum Act, 1934 was an Act passed by the Indian Legislature, which received the assent of the Governor General on 6 -9 -1934. It was brought into force on 30 -3 -1937 by a notification dated 23 -3 -1937. It is an Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the import, transport, storage, production, refining and blending of petroleum and other inflammable substances. Section 3 of the said Act provides that no one shall import, transport or store any petroleum save in accordance with the Rules made under Section 4 of the said Act, and also that no petroleum can be transported or stored save in accordance with the conditions of any license for the purpose which he may be required to obtain, by Rules made under Section 4. Section 4 empowers the Central Government to make Rules, inter alia prescribing the form and conditions of a license for the storage of any petroleum. In exercise of the rule -making power conferred by Section 4, Rules have been prescribed, known as the 'Petroleum Rules, 1937', Rule 115 prescribes the form in which a license may be granted for the storage of petroleum. The licenses taken out by the petitioner company are in the prescribed form, (form 'J'). The form of the license shows that it grants the right to the licensee to store non -dangerous petroleum in the storage -shed described in the license, subject to the provisions of the Petroleum Act, 1934, the Rules made thereunder and to the conditions of the license. The condition of the license prescribed in detail as to the manner in which the storage -shed is to be constructed, and where it should be situated. It further lays down that adequate precaution shall be taken at all times for the prevention of accident by fire or explosion. Then there are provisions for allowing access to Inspectors or Sampling Officer appointed by the licensing authority,
(2.) IN May, 1952 the Corporation of Calcutta demanded license fees from the petitioner company for the year 1950 -51 for storage of petroleum at Paharpur and Garden Reach. The petitioner company made an application under Article 226 of the Constitution challenging the legality of such demand. This was numbered as Civil Rule No. 1425 of 1953. This Rule having come up for hearing before me on 24 -6 -1958, was made absolute on the preliminary point, namely, that the license fee was being demanded for a period during which no license -fee had been fixed. The other constitutional points taken in the said application were left open. On 23 -12 -1958 the respondent No. 1, the Director, West Bengal Fire Services, wrote a letter to the petitioner company, requesting it to apply for licenses under the West Bengal Fire Services Act, 1950 (West Bengal Act XVIII of 1950) for the storage of petroleum and petroleum products above 20 gallons and for kerosene oil above 40 gallons, a copy thereof is annexed to the petition and marked with the letter 'A'. The West Bengal Fire Services Act, 1950 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Fire Services Act') was passed on 30 -3 -1950 and came into force on 18 -4 -1950 inter alia in Calcutta, Garden Reach and Budge Budge. The preamble to the Act states that it is an. Act to provide for the maintenance of a fire brigade, for the licensing of warehouses and for certain other matters. Under Section 3 of this Act, it is provided that the State Government shall maintain a fire brigade for services in the local areas in which this Act was in force. Section 4 confers powers on the State Government to do various acts and pass orders in respect of a fire -brigade constituted under the Act, e.g. for furnishing the same with fire -fighting appliances, building or providing stations, training members of the fire brigade, and for other purposes. The word, 'warehouse' has been defined under the said Act to mean any building or place used, whether temporarily, or permanently for the storing of certain articles mentioned in Sub -section (2) of Section 2, which mentions specifically certain articles and gives power to the State Government to add to the list by notification in the Official Gazette. By notification dated 27 -10 -1950 petroleum products and kerosene were added to the list. Under Section 12 of the Fire Services Act it has been provided that no building or place shall be used as a warehouse unless the owner or occupier thereof shall have previously obtained under this Act, a license for such use from the Collector. The word 'collector' has been defined to mean, in relation to Calcutta, the Collector of Stamp Revenue and in relation to any other local area, the Collector of the district within which the local area is comprised. Section 13 lays down that no license to use any building or place as a warehouse shall be granted unless such building or place conforms to such conditions as may be prescribed by Rules. Section 14 lays down the manner in which such licenses are to be taken out in respect of a building or place already used as a warehouse.
(3.) BEFORE I proceed to enumerate the precise point of dispute that has arisen in this case, it will be necessary to consider certain items in the 7th Schedule of the Constitution. Item 53 in List I (Union List) is as follows: '53. The regulation and development of oil fields and mineral oil resources; petroleum and petroleum products; other liquids and substances declared by Parliament by law to be dangerously inflammable'. ;