BALAWANTRAI BHIKABHAI PAREKH Vs. SOUTH KANARA MARKET COMMITTEE AND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Petitioners before us are merchants from Gujerat having their office at Mangalore Bunder. The 1st Respondent is the South Kanara Market Committee. The 2nd Respondent is the Collector of Customs, Mangalore. The present petition has been made for relief against imposition of fee under the Madras Commercial Crops Markets Act, 1933 (Madras Act XX of 1933) and against the requirements under the said Act to take out licence for use of any place for the purchase or sale of notified commercial crops and for the storage, weighment, pressing or processing etc., of such crops.

(2.) The matter arises in this way : -- On the 25th of July, 1933 the said Act being the Madras Commercial Crops Markets Act, 1933, carne into force. It was an Act to provide for the better regulation of buying and selling of commercial crops and the establishment of markets for commercial crops in the Presidency of Madras. The preamble of the said Act reads as follows:

(3.) By virtue of the provisions contained in the said Act, which authorises the Government by notification to declare a particular area to be notified area, and by virtue of the power given to the Government to notify any particular crop or product as a commercial crop for purposes of this Act, the State Government of Madras issued two notifications. By the first notification issued on 27th June, 1949 cocoa nut and its by-products and arecanuts were mentioned as commercial crops for purposes of this Act. By the second notification issued on 1st November, 1949 it was notified that the area situated within the limits of each of the districts of Malabar and South Kanara shall be a notified area for the purpose of the said Act in respect of cocoanut and its by-products and arecanut.