RAGHU SEEDS AND FARMS AND OTHERS ETC.versusTHE UNION OF INDIA AND ORS. ETC.

_A            RAGHU SEEDS AND FARMS AND OTHERS ETC.
                                v.
                 THE UNION OF INDIA AND ORS. ETC.

                                OCTOBER 28, 1993
 B
              [KULDIP SINGH AND YOGESHWAR DAYAL, JJ.]

           Essential Commodities Act, 1955: Sections 2 and 3--Notification dated
     24.2.1983 declaring certain seeds to be essential commoditie~Seeds (Con-
 C   trol) Order-Issue of-Whether intra vires the powers are valid. ·

           Seeds (Control) Order, 1983-Power of Central Government to issue
     the Seeds (Control) order- Whether covered under Entry 33 of List III of the.
     Seventh Schedule to the Constitution.

D          Constitution of India, 1950: Seventh Schedule-l...ist Ill Entry 33-
     Power of Central Government to issue Notification declaring certain seeds to
     be essential commodities-Consequently issuing the Seeds (Control) Order,
     1983-Validity of.

           In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-clause (xi) of clause (a)
E of section 2 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 the Central Govern~
     ment, by its order notified on 24.2.1993, declared certain seeds to be
     essential commodities for the purposes of the Act. The seeds included
     seeds of food crops and seeds of fruits and vegetables. Consequently, the
     Central Government issued the Seeds (Control) Order, 1983 in exercise of
F    the powers conferred by Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.
     The order contemplated that persons carrying on the business of selling,
     exporting or importing seeds should obtain a licence.

           In these Transferred Cases, the validity of the notified order dated
G 24th February, 1983 and the Seeds (Control) Order, 1983 are challenged
     mainly on the ground that the seeds and seeds of fruits and vegetables
     were not the class of commodities which could be declared by the Central
     Government as essential commodities for the purposes of the Act, and that
     the said commodities were not the commodities in respect of whi~ the
     Parliament had powers to make law by virtue of Entry 33 of Lisi m of
H    Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India.
                                         480
                         RAGHU SEEDS v. U.0.1.                           481

      Dismissing the cases, this Court                                          A
      HELD : 1.1. It is well established that the language of the various
entries should be given the widest scope of which their meaning is fairly
capable. [485-A]

      1.2. Clause (b) of Entry 33 of List III of the Seventh Schedule to the    B
Constitution of India mentions 'foodstuffs' as a class of commodity which
includes edible oilseeds and oils. This entry deals with not merely trade
and commerce in foodstuffs but also in relation thereof in production,
supply and distribution as well. Once it is clear that Entry 33 also deals
with production, it is obvious that the seeds are a vital commodity having      C
direct connection with the production of the foodstuffs to which it relat.;s.
Therefore, seeds of foodstuffs is an item which has direct bearing with the
production of the foodstuffs and consequently it is competent for the
Parliament as well as States to make laws in relation to seeds of foodstuffs.
Surely seeds of food-crops and seeds of fruits and vegetables relate to
foodstuffs. Thus, there is no doubt that the notified order dated 24th          D
February, 1983 was intra vires the powers conferred by sub- clause (xi) of
clause (a) of Section 2 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. Once the
said notified order becomes valid, the Seeds (Control) Order 1983 is within
the power of the Central Government under Section 3 of the Act.
                                                           (484-F-G; 485-B]     E
      Calcutta Gas Company (Proprietary) Ltd. v. West Bengal and others,
AIR (1962) S.C. 1044 and Harakchand Ratanchand Banthia and other etc.
v. Union of India and others, (1970] 1 S.C.R. 479, referred to.

      CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION : Transferred case No. 4 of
~                                                                               F
      (Under Article 139-Al of the Constitution of India.)

                                  WITH

      Transferred Case Nos. 5 of 1986 & 48 of 1986                              G
                                  WITH

      Writ Petition {C) Nos. 15337-38 of 1984.

      H.N. Salve and C. Mohan Rao for M/s Swarup John & Co. for the             H
    482                    SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1993) SUPP. 3 S,C.R,

A petitioner.
         A.S. Nambiar, B.C. Barua, S.N. Terdal and C.V.S. Rao for the
    Responde.nts.

          The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
B
           YOGESHWAR DAYAL, J. By Transferred Case Nos. 4, 5 and 48 of
    1986 and Writ Petition (Civil) Nos. 15337-15338 of 1984 the petitioners
    herein have challenged the constitutional validity of the Seeds (Control)
    Order, 1983 purported to have been issued in exercise of the powers
    conferred by Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (hereinafter
C   referred to as 'the Act') as being unconstitutional, ultra vires and void, The
    petitioners have also challenged the declaration of seeds of food-crops &nd
    seeds of fruits and vegetables as the essential commodities by the Govern-
    ment of India, Ministry
                         0
                             of Civil Supplies contained in the order dated 24th
    February, 1983 also issued under the Act.                       ·
D
          Section 2 of the Act is the definitions section and inter alia clause (a)
    thereof defines "essential commodity". The relevant part of clause (a) reads
    as follows:

             "(a) "essential commodity" means any of the following classes of
E                 commodities -

                    (i) cattle fodder, including oilcakes and other concentrates;

                    (ii) coal, including coke and other derivatives;

F                   (iii) component parts and accessories of automobiles;

                    (iv) cotton and woolen textiles;
                                                                                      -
                    (iva) drugs,

G            Explanation - In this sub-clause "drug" has the meaning assigned
             to it in clause (b) of Section 3 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act,
             1940 (23 of 1940);

             (v) foodstuffs, including edible oilseeds and oils ;

H            (vi)
                  RAGtHJ SEEDSv. U.Q.I. [DAYAL,J.]                     483

        (vii)                                                                A
        (viii)

        (ix)

        (x)                                                                  B
        (xi) any other class of corpmoclity which the Central Government
        may, by notified order, declare to be an essential commodity for
        the purposes of this Act, being a commodity with respect to which
        Parliament has power to '1lake laws by virtue of Entry 33 in List
        ID ln the Seventh Schedqle to the Constitution;"                     C
  , By the impugned notified order dated 34th February, 1983 the
Central Government in exercise of the powers conferred by sub- clause (xi)
of clause (a) of Section 2 of the Act decl!ifed the following seeds used of
sowing or planting (including i;eedfuigs and tubers, bulbs rhinzomes, roots, D
cuttings and all types of graftii and other vegetatively propagated material
of foods crops or cattle fodder) to be essential commodities for the
purpose of the said Act, namely -

        "(i) Seeds of food-crops and seeds of fruits and vegetables;
                                                                             E
        (ii) Seeds of cattle fodder and

        (iii) jute seeds. •

       After issuing the said notified order declaring inter alia the seed of
food-crops and seeds of fruits and vegetables as essential commodities the F
Central Ooveroment issued the impugned Seeds (Control) Order, 1983
purported to be in exercise of the. powers conferred by Section 3 of the
Act. It inter alia contemplates that th~ persons carrying on business of
selling, exporting or importing seeds to obtain licence. ·It also inter alia
provides for grant and/or refusal of the licence; renewal of the licence and G
various ancilliary provisions for suspension, cancellation of licence and
submissions of various returns including provision of punishment for viola-
tion of the Seeds (Control) Order, 1983.

       The basic question involved iJl these matters is the validity of the
11otified order dated 24th February, 1983 whereby inter alia seeds of H
    484                   SUPRErvi:E COURT REPORTS (1993) SUPP. 3 S.C.R.

A · food-crops and seeds of fruits and vegetables have been declared as
    essential commodities for the purposes of the Act. The validity of the
    notified order inter alia is challenged on the ground that the seeds of
    food-crops and seeds of fruits and vegetables are not class of commodities
    which could be declared by the Central Government as essential com-
B   modities for the purposes of the Act. The argument is that it is so because
    such a commodity is not a commodity in respect of which the Parliament
    has powers to make law by virtue of Entry 33 of List III of the Vllth
    Schedule to the Constitution of India. Entry 33 of List III of the Vllth
    Schedule to the Constitution of India reads as follows :

C            "33. Trade an commerce in, and the production, supply and dis-
             tribution of, -

             (a)

             (b) Foodstuffs, .including edible oilseeds and oils;
D
             (c)

             (d)

             (e)
E       It is clear that the aforesaid Entry 33 deals with not merely trade and
  commerce in, but also in the production, supply and distribution of, various
  products and articles mentioned in clauses (a) to (e) thereof. Clause (b)
  of Entry 33 n;:tentions 'foodstuffs' as a class of commodity wlµch includes
  edible oilseeds and oils. The main thing to be noticed in that the Entry
F deals with not merely trade and commerce in foodstuffs but also in relation
  thereof in production, supply and distribution as well. Once it is clear that
  Entry 33 deals with production,· it is obvious that the seeds are a vital
  commodity having direct connection with the production of the foodstuffs
  to which it relates. Therefore, seeds of foodstuffs is an item which has
G direct bearing with the production of the foodstuffs and consequently it is
  competent for the Parliament as well as States to make laws in relation to
  seeds o( foodstuffs. Surely seeds of food-crops and seeds of fruits and
  vegetables relate to foodstuffs.

          The various entires in three lists are fields of legislation. See Calcutta
H Gas Company (Proprietary) Ltd. v. State of West Bengal and others, AIR
                   RAGHUSEEDSv. U.0.1. (DAYAL,J.)                        485

(1962) S.C. 1044 and Harakchand Ratanchand Banthia and others etc. v. A
Union of India and others, [1970] 1 S.C.R. 479 at 489.

       Again it is well established that the language of the various entries
sh~uld be given the widest scope of which their meaning is fairly capable.

       Therefore there is no doubt that the notified order dated 24th           B
February 1983 was intra vires the powers conferred by sub· clause (xi) of
clause (a) of Section 2 of the Act. Once the said notified order becomes
valid, the Seeds (Control) Order, 1983 is within the power of the Central
Government under Section 3 of the Act

       These petitions, therefore, fail and are dismissed with costs.           C
G.N.                                                     Petitions dismissed.