D V KEMPAIAH Vs. CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioners in all these writ petitions are either traders or commission agents. They are also called as market functionaries under the Karnataka Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation Act, 1966, hereinafter referred to as "the Act". They are presently carrying on their business in agricultural produce in a locality called 'Old and New Tharagupet along with Krishna Rajendra Market' at Bangalore. The area consisting of these localities was once notified as "market yard", but now a new market yard has been established at Yeshwanthpur on Tumkur Road and the Market Committee has issued notices to the petitioners to shift their business to the new market yard. The petitioners have challenged the validity of the notices contending, inter alia, that the objections filed by them against the proposal to shift the market yard were not considered, and there were no adequate facilities for trading in the new market yard.

(2.) During the pendency of the writ petitions, that Act was amended by Karnataka Act 43 of 1976 widening the scope of the parent Act so as to bring within its fold all activities of buying and selling of notified agricultural produce. The amending Act ("Act 43 of 1976") also prohibited the sale and purchase of notified the agricultural produce in any area in the market other than the market yard, sub-yard or the sub-market yard. The petitioners by seeking appropriate amendments to the writ petitions, have also challenged the constitutional validity of Act 43 of 1976.

(3.) Before examining the salient featured of the Act, it may be necessary to have a bio-data of the State of Karnataka and the economic philosophy informing the legislation. The State with an area of about 192,000 km. Is located in the south-western part of the Deccan Plateau. It has a coastline of about 300 km. Population is about 29.3 million (Provisional figures of 1971 population census) representing some 5. 5 % of the total population of India, Karnataka ranks sixth and eighth in area and population, respectively. About 76 % of the population live in rural areas (29,500 villages). The remaining 24 % live in the State's 245 towns, about one-half (12%) in the 11 principal centres of over 100,000 people. For administrative purposes, the State is divided into 4 divisions 19 districts, and 175 Talukas (administrative units) Some 6.7 million persons are engaged in agriculture, representing 65 % of the total working population. The total land area in the State is some 19.0 million ha, and of this some 62% is cultivated (of which about one seventh is fallow); 15 % forested; and 23 % barren, uncultivated or used for non-agricultural purposes. The State produces a wide diversity of agricultural crops. The Act in question falls within the legislative entries 26 and 28 of List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. These legislative entries deal with 'Trade and Commerce within the State', and 'Markets and Fairs' respectively. It is stated that the State of Karnataka in its agricultural development plan has stressed development of modern regulated markets for improved marketing of agricultural produce. The improved marketing facilities are found to be particularly important for the 7 lakhs small farmers, who hold less than 2 hectares each, and whose bargaining power is nowhere near the big farmers. To increase competition and improve efficiently in marketing of agricultural produce, a meeting place for buyers and sellers has been found to be necessary. The facilities of handling large quantities of produce under a system that assures maximum competition and a minimum of wastage should be provided to them. With that end in view, the legislature has enacted the Act in question.