- (1.) The three writ petitions being of identical nature were heard together and can conveniently be disposed of by a common judgment.
(2.) The petitioners are dealers at Pali carrying on business inter alia in cotton seeds. They pray for a writ in the nature of certiorari, mandamus or prohibition or any other suitable writ for striking down the item "cotton seeds" from the list of commodities applicable to the Krishi Upaj Mandi, Pali and further the respondents be restrained from calling upon the petitioner to take a licence for carrying on trade in this commodity or to recover fees from the petitioners by taking any coercive action against them. It will be convenient to take the facts from writ petition No. 1981 of 1971.
(3.) The petitioner avers that he deals in cotton seeds and not in any other commodity. He buys cotton seeds in the State of Gujarat and then brings them to Pali in Rajasthan and sells them at Pali where the commodity is used as a cattle feed. The petitioner further avers that he never buys cotton leeds from the agriculturists in the local market at Pali. According to him, cotton seed is neither grown in Pali area nor do the agriculturists ever bring cotton seed for sale to Pali. The Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti, Pali was established in accordance with the provision of the Rajasthan Agricultural Produce Market Act, 1961, hereinafter to be referred as the 'Act", and the petitioner takes the stand that this Act was passed with a view to helping the agriculturists in getting better prices for produce. This was sought to be done by regulation of market. The petitioner further takes the stand that since cotton seed is not locally produced in the market area of Pali, there could be no question of including this commodity as an agricultural produce to be regulated by the Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti, Pali, The petitioner further proceeds to say that the Government had not acted according to the principles underlying the provisions of the Act in including this commodity viz., cotton seeds, for being regulated by the Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti and consequently the Government notification issued under Section 3 of the Act for including this commodity was in excess of the power of the State Government and was thus ultra vires. The petitioner has assailed the Government notification en a number of grounds which were as follows: (1) Cotton seed is not a local produce of Pali market area and was, therefore, not liable to be included in the notification under Section 3 of the Act. (2) Cotton seed being a component of unginned cotton which is included in the list of commodity cannot be separately once again included. (3) The commodity namely, cotton seed, must be bought and sold in the market area before it can be subjected to regulation or imposition of fee by the Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti. (4) Since commodity is brought from outside the State namely, Gujarat where it is already subjected to a fee under a similar legislation no fee could be demanded by the Krishi Uparj Mandi Samiti, Pali, as that would be duplication of a tax imposts. (5) The power given to the Government under Section 3 of the Act to include or exclude a commodity is unguided, arbitrary and no criteria being laid down under the Act is bad. In elaboration which was nothing but repetition the petitioner submitted that he deals only in cotton seeds which are not produced in the Pali area.;