- (1.) By this Writ Petition the petitioner has prayed for quashing Rajasthan Molasses Rules, 1985. In the year 1985 sub-section (17A) was added to the Section 3 of the Rajasthan Excise Act, which reads as under : "17-A "Molasses" means the mother liquor produced in the final stage of the manufacture of sugar or Khandsari sugar by the Vacuum pan process or open pan process from sugar cane or gur." Likewise, molasses or lanced poppy heads had been added to clause (d) of sub-section (2) of Section 41 of the aforesaid Act and they have been made excisable articles. On the basis of this, Rajasthan Molasses Rules, 1985 have been framed and they are now under challenge. Provisions of the Excise Act are not under challenge.
(2.) The main ground of challenge is that in view of Section 18(c) of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951, an order was issued by the Central Government titled as the Molasses Control Order, 1961. This being an item mentioned in Entry No. 52 of list 1 of Schedule VII of the Constitution of India, the State Legislature has no power to frame any rule about the molasses. It is further claimed that rule under Section 41 of the Rajasthan Excise Act could be framed only for purposes of carrying out the objects of the Excise Act but there is no provision in the Excise Act how the control is to be exercised and, therefore, in absence of a provision of control of the molasses in the Excise Act itself, the State Government had no authority to frame Molasses Rules.
(3.) It was also claimed that although 'molasses' had been defined by Section 3 (17A) of the Rajasthan Excise Act, there is no other provision in the Act authorising the State Government to specify the purpose and area of control by the State Government and, therefore, the State Government had no authority to frame rules.;