# M/S. SABLE WAGHIRE & CO. & OTHERS v. UNION OF INDIA & OTHERS

- **Citation:** [1975] Supp. 1 S.C.R. 9
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1975-03-21
- **Case number:** Writ Petition No. 37 of 1970
- **Bench:** K"K. Mathew, V. R. Krishna !Yer, P. K. Goswami
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/m-s-sable-waghire-co-others-v-union-of-india-others-6461
- **Pages:** 9

## Headnote

9
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B
Emblems and Narnes (Prevention of Inzproper Use) Act, 1950-Legislative
conipetence of Parliament-Sanctity of na1nes and emblen1s of international a11d
national entities-Act, if covered by ,Entries 49 and 91 of List l or by Entry
i
26 of List Tl of Schedule Vil of the' Constitution.
C
E1nblen1s and Na1nes (Prevention of Improper use) Act, 1950, Sections 3,
4 t;1nd 8-Regulation of use of e1nblen1s and ruunes_:."Clzltatrapati Shivaji'", if
· could be used as trade narne-Provisions, if suffer from the vice of excessive
delegation of legislative power-Petitioner's right under Article 19(1)(f) and
{g), if violated.
The petitioners Nos. 2 to 5 in Writ Petition No. 37 of 1970 are the
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sole partners of petitioner No. 1 which is a registered partnership firm carrying
·OJ). the business of manufacturing, marketing and selling bid.is under the pictorial
representation ,and the trade name "Chhatrapati Shivaji Bidi".
The firm is
the sole proprietor of the Registered Trade Mark No. 12549 in respect of
the pictorial representation of the picture of "Chhatrapati Shivaji" and of the
Registered ·Trade Mark No. 12550 in respect of the trade name "Chhatrapati
Shivaji" registered in the Registry of Trade Marks, Bomba~. The petitioner
in Wr.it Petition No. 38 of 1970 supporting the petitioners in Writ Petition
E
No. 37 of 1970 has submitted the additional petition claiming the same
re!iefs. The petitioner in \Vrit Petition No. 38 of 1970 (the company) has
,.iso been impleaded as respondent no. 4 in Writ Petition No. 37 of 1970. By
a declaration dated November 25, 1938, filed with the Registrar of Assurances
at Bombay, petitioner no. 2 obtained protection for the user of the said pictorial
representation of "Chhatrapati Shivaji" and for the use of the said trade name
-as the exclusive proprietor thereof.
In due course under an agreement dated
June 29, 1967, the firm while retaining exclusive proprietory tights in respect
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of the Registered Trade Marks Nos. 12549 and 12550 gave exclusive right of
UBer thereof to the company for valuable consideration.
By a notification
No. S0/1020 dated March 16, 1968, issued by the Central Government under
section 8 of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950,
and published in the Gazette of India on March 23, 1968, in item No,. 9A
in the Schedule to the Act after the words "pictorial representation of'', the
\vords "Chharapati Shivaji Maharaj or" were inserted.
On the representation
made by the petitioners, the Government ailowed the petitioners to use the
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existing Trade Marks with the name and the pictorial representation of Chhatrapati Shivaji till May 31, 1969.
The Joint Registrar of Trade Marks (Respondent No. 3) by Notice No. PR/
1951 dated October 16, 1969, informed the firm that the use and registration
of the name and the pictorial representation of "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj"
is prohibited by virtue of section 3 and 4 of the impugned Act and the
registration of the aforesaid Trade Marks Nos. 12549 and 12550 offended
H
1he provisions of section 11 of the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act 19.58
read with section 32(b) of the said Act, and, therefore, proposed ~o recttfy
the Register by expunging therefrom the said Trade Marks unde~ sect!on. 56(4)
of the said Act.
The Registrar called upon the firm to submit ob1ections tf
any.
The petitioners applied for extension of t!me. to show ca~se before th~
Rerristrar and ultimately moved these· Writ apphcattons ch.a1leng1ng the constttut'fonal validity of the Act and in particular of sections 3, 4 and 8 of the
~i\ct as well as of. the Notification of the Central Government dated March 16,
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1975) SUPP. S.C.R.
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1968.
They have also prayed for quashing the Notice of the Registrar dated
October 16, 1969.
A rule nisi was obtained on March 2, 1970, with interim
stay preventing the Goverrunent from enforcing the provisioris of the Act. ·
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It was contended for the petitioners : (1) The Act is void for want o

## Text

M/S. SABLE WAGHIRE & CO. & OTHERS
v.
UNION OF INDIA & OTHERS
March 21, 1975
(K"K. MATHEW, V. R. KRISHNA !YER AND P. K. GOSWAMI, JJ.]
9
A
B
Emblems and Narnes (Prevention of Inzproper Use) Act, 1950-Legislative
conipetence of Parliament-Sanctity of na1nes and emblen1s of international a11d
national entities-Act, if covered by ,Entries 49 and 91 of List l or by Entry
i
26 of List Tl of Schedule Vil of the' Constitution.
C
E1nblen1s and Na1nes (Prevention of Improper use) Act, 1950, Sections 3,
4 t;1nd 8-Regulation of use of e1nblen1s and ruunes_:."Clzltatrapati Shivaji'", if
· could be used as trade narne-Provisions, if suffer from the vice of excessive
delegation of legislative power-Petitioner's right under Article 19(1)(f) and
{g), if violated.
The petitioners Nos. 2 to 5 in Writ Petition No. 37 of 1970 are the
D
sole partners of petitioner No. 1 which is a registered partnership firm carrying
·OJ). the business of manufacturing, marketing and selling bid.is under the pictorial
representation ,and the trade name "Chhatrapati Shivaji Bidi".
The firm is
the sole proprietor of the Registered Trade Mark No. 12549 in respect of
the pictorial representation of the picture of "Chhatrapati Shivaji" and of the
Registered ·Trade Mark No. 12550 in respect of the trade name "Chhatrapati
Shivaji" registered in the Registry of Trade Marks, Bomba~. The petitioner
in Wr.it Petition No. 38 of 1970 supporting the petitioners in Writ Petition
E
No. 37 of 1970 has submitted the additional petition claiming the same
re!iefs. The petitioner in \Vrit Petition No. 38 of 1970 (the company) has
,.iso been impleaded as respondent no. 4 in Writ Petition No. 37 of 1970. By
a declaration dated November 25, 1938, filed with the Registrar of Assurances
at Bombay, petitioner no. 2 obtained protection for the user of the said pictorial
representation of "Chhatrapati Shivaji" and for the use of the said trade name
-as the exclusive proprietor thereof.
In due course under an agreement dated
June 29, 1967, the firm while retaining exclusive proprietory tights in respect
F
of the Registered Trade Marks Nos. 12549 and 12550 gave exclusive right of
UBer thereof to the company for valuable consideration.
By a notification
No. S0/1020 dated March 16, 1968, issued by the Central Government under
section 8 of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950,
and published in the Gazette of India on March 23, 1968, in item No,. 9A
in the Schedule to the Act after the words "pictorial representation of'', the
\vords "Chharapati Shivaji Maharaj or" were inserted.
On the representation
made by the petitioners, the Government ailowed the petitioners to use the
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existing Trade Marks with the name and the pictorial representation of Chhatrapati Shivaji till May 31, 1969.
The Joint Registrar of Trade Marks (Respondent No. 3) by Notice No. PR/
1951 dated October 16, 1969, informed the firm that the use and registration
of the name and the pictorial representation of "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj"
is prohibited by virtue of section 3 and 4 of the impugned Act and the
registration of the aforesaid Trade Marks Nos. 12549 and 12550 offended
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1he provisions of section 11 of the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act 19.58
read with section 32(b) of the said Act, and, therefore, proposed ~o recttfy
the Register by expunging therefrom the said Trade Marks unde~ sect!on. 56(4)
of the said Act.
The Registrar called upon the firm to submit ob1ections tf
any.
The petitioners applied for extension of t!me. to show ca~se before th~
Rerristrar and ultimately moved these· Writ apphcattons ch.a1leng1ng the constttut'fonal validity of the Act and in particular of sections 3, 4 and 8 of the
~i\ct as well as of. the Notification of the Central Government dated March 16,
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1975) SUPP. S.C.R.
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1968.
They have also prayed for quashing the Notice of the Registrar dated
October 16, 1969.
A rule nisi was obtained on March 2, 1970, with interim
stay preventing the Goverrunent from enforcing the provisioris of the Act. ·
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It was contended for the petitioners : (1) The Act is void for want or
legislative competence: (ii) Sections 3, 4 and 8 of the Act suffer from the
vice of excessive delegation of legislative power; (iii) The Act has become
unv.'orkable because no rules have been framed under section 9 of the Act;
aud (iv) 'fhe Notification under section 8 was not published in the name of
the President and was issued by the Under Secretary who was not authorised
to do so.
Rejecting the contentions and dismissing. the \Vrit Petitions :
HELD : (i) Entry 49 of' List I may \Vell supply the coverage for the
Union legislative field so far as the Act is concerned. Trade marks, designs and
nierchandise marks may legitimately take in matters relating to their abuses
and improper uses.
Even otherwis.e the residuary entn 97 of List I is of v1ide
amplitude to take care of the particular suhjP-ct matter of legislation, namely,
prevention of improper use of certain en1blems and names for professional
and/or commercial purposes.
[14G]
(ii) The scheme disclosed in the provisions of the Act read with the preamble, and the Objects and Reasons rr.ake it clear that there was imperative
necessity for regulating the use of certain emblems and names.
The fact that
only improper use Of the names and emblems is prohibited itself provides
guidance.
The original entries in the Schedule would also point to the nature
and character of the names, emblems and entities.
It is not possible for the
Parliament to envisage the possibility of improper use of all names and emblems
as tin1e goes on. Nol\ is it possible to enumerate in the Schedule an exhaustive
list of all the names, emblems and entities.
~ction 8, therefore, makes provision for empowering the Central Government td add to or alter the Schectnle.
In the nature of things, there is no abdication of legislative function by Parlian1ent in delegating its po\ver under section 8 in favour of the Central Government which will be the appropriate authority to consider from time to time
as to the ilems to be included in or omitted from the Schedule in the light
of knowledge and experience gathered from the nook and corner of the entire
country.
There is, therefore. no excessi\'C delegation of legislative power by
PaiJiament in favour of the Central Government.
[16A-B]
The petitioners' right to trade in bidis is not at all interfered with by the
legislation. Section 3 in terms provides for enabling the affected persons to
vdjust their business or affairs inasmucli as the Central Government can pennit
some time to alter their emblems, designs, etc. to carry on with their trade.
Indeed in the present case the petitioners on their own application obtained
an extension of time presumably under section 3 of the Act and, therefore.
cannot complain on that score.
There is built-in safeguard in section 3 itself
for mitigating any hardship to persons. or any rigour of the law. The provisions
arc accordingly regulatory in nature and even. if at all. they impose only reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the petitioners' right under Article 19(1)(f)
and (g )..
Section 4 is a consequential provision and validly co-exists with
section 3. [16FG]
(iii) From the scheme and machinery of the Act there is nothing to indicate
that absence of rules will make the Act unworkable. [16G-H}
(iv) The Notification is not an executive order but is .a piece of subordinate
legislation made by the Central Government under section 8 of the Act.
It
was duly published in the Gazette of India over the signature of the Under
Secretary who was authorised for the purpose.
Therefore, the question of
violation of Article 77 does not arise. J17A]
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION : Writ Petitions Nos. 37 and 38 of 1970.
Petition under Art. 32 of the Constitution of India.
+
)
s. WAGHIRE & co. v. UNION (Goswami, J.)
B. D. Bal, J. V. Deshpande, 0. C. Mathur and D. N. Mishra,
for the petitioners.
L. 'N. Sinha, Solicitor General of India, G. L. SanRhi and Girish
Chandra, for the respondents.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
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GOSWAMI, J.-The petitioners Nos. 2 to 5 in Writ Petition No. 37
of 1970 are the sole: partners of petitioner No. 1 which is a registered
partnership firm (briefly the firm) carrying on the business of manufacturing, marketing and selling bidis under the pictorial representation and the trade name "Chhatrapati Shivaji Bidi". The firm is the
sole proprietor of the Registered Trade Mark No; 12549 in respect
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of the pictorial representation of the picture of "Chhatrapati Shivaji"
and of the Registered Trade Mark No. 12550 in respect of the trade
name "Chhatrapati Shivaji" registered in the Registry of Trade Marks,
Bombay: The petitioner in Writ. Petition No. 38 of 1970 supporting
the petitioners in Writ Petition No. 37 of 1970 ha.s submitted the
additional petition claiming the same reliefs.
Jn fact the petitioner
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in Writ Petition No. 38 of 1970 (briefly the company) has also been
impleaded as respondent No. 4 in Writ Petition No. 37 of 1970.
According to the petitioners the business of manufacturing bidis
accoording to special formll_lae and processes and of marketing and
selling them under the pictorial representation of "Chhatrapati Shivaji"
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and under the trade name "Chhatrapati Shivaji" was first started in
about the year 1928 by one Raghunath Ramchandra Sable, the father
of petitioners 2 and 4. It is stated that Raghunath Ramchandra Sable
adopted the said pictorial representation and the said trade name in
response to a call of the then popular leaders to adopt the name of
Chhatrapati Shivaii. in relation to aU articles designed for public use
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or consumption with a view to popularise and keep before the public
eye the image of the national hero, Chhatrapati Shivaji. By a declaration dated November 25, 1938, filed with the Registrar of Assurances
at Bombay, petitioner No. 2 obtained protection for the user of the
said pictorial representation of "Chhatrapati Shivaji" and for the use of
the said trade name as the exclusive proprietor thereof. In due course
under an agreement dated June 29, 1967, the firm while retaining
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exclusive proprietary rights in respect of the Registered Trade Marks
Nos. 12549 and 12550 gave exclusive right of user thereof to the
company for valuable consideration. It is said that the bidi business
developed on a very vast and extensive scale and' the sale of bidis
marketed and sold under the pictorial representation of "Chhatrapati .
Shivaji" and the words "Chhatrapati Shivaji" associated therewith came
to over Rs. 2 crores. The business also spread to different States.
H
Troubk started when by a Notificatiori No. S0/1020 dated March
16, 1968. issued by the Central Government under section 8 of the
Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use)
Act
1950
(br!efly the Act) and published in the Gazette of India on M~rch 23
1968, in item No. 9A in the Schedule to the Act after the word;
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1975] SUPP. S.C.R.
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"pictorial representation of', the words "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
or" were inserted.
We have, therefore, to turn our attention to the
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Act.
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The long title of the Act is The Emblems and Names (Prevention
0f Improper Use) Act, 1950.
The preamble shows that it is "an
Act to prevent the improper use of certain emblems and names for
professional and commercial purposes". The Act extends to the whole
of India and also applies to citizens of India outside India. It was
brought into force from September I, 1950.
Section 3 which is the
most important section reads as under :
Prohibition of Improper use of certain emblems and names.
3. "Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the
time being in force, no person shall, except in such cases
and under such conditions as may be prescribed by the
Central Government, use, or continue to use, for the
purpose of any trade, business, calling or profession,
or in the title of any patent, or in any trade mark or
design, any name or emblem specified in the Schedule or
any colourable imitation thereof without the previous
permission of the Central Government or of such officer
of Government as may be authorised in this behalf
by the Central Government".
Section 4 prohibits registration of ccrlain companies, etc. and 1s
as follows
4( I). "Notwithstanding anyt]1ing contained in any law for
the time being in force,
no
competent
authority
shall,-
( a) register any company, firm or other body of persons
which bears any name, or
(b) register a trade mark or design which
bears
any
emblem or name, or
(c) grant a patent in respect of any invention which bears
a title containing any emblem or name;
(2)
if the use of such name or emblem is in contravention
of section 3.
If any question arises before a competent autl1onty
whether any emblem is an emblem specified iii the
Schedule or a colourable imitation thereof, the competent authority may refer the question to the Central
Government, and the decision of the Central Government thereon shall be final.
Section 5 which imposes penalty ·for contravention of section 3
of the Act runs as follows :-
' 5. ";\ny person who contravenes the provisions of section 3
shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five
hundred rupees''.
. s. WAGHIRB & co. v. UNION (Goswami, J.)
Section 8 reads as under :-
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Power of the Central Government to amend the Schedule.
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8. "The Central Government may, by notification· in the
Official Gazette, add to or alter the Schedule, and any
such addition or alteration shall have effect as if it had
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been made by this Act".
Section 9 empowers the Central Government to make rules to
carry out the purposes of the Act.
Originally the Schedule atta_ched
to the Act bad only three items, namely,-
(!) The name, emblem or official seal of the United Nations
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Organization;
(2) The name, emblem or official seal of the World Health
Organization; and
(3). The Indian National Flag.
But by various notifications of the Central Government in the course
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of several years the Schedule now contains 17 items of which we
are now concerned only with item No. 9A which as amended by the
impugned Notification dated March 16, 1968, stands as under :-
9A. "The name or pictorial representation of Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj or Mahatma Gandhi or the Prime
E
Minister of India (except the pictorial use thereof on
calendars where only the name of the manufacturers
and printers of the calendars are given and the calendars are not used for advertising goods)."
It is, therefore, clear that under section 3 read with the Schedule
F
as amended the petitioners will not be able to use for the purpose of
their trade or business the particular Trade Marks containing the name
ot emblem of Chhatrapati Shivaji.
The petitioners represented to the Government of India in the
Commerce Department about the hardship caused to
them
and
. requested for extension of time upto March 31, 1972 for continuing
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to the use the said Trade Marks. The Government allowed the petitioners time to use the existing Trade Marks with the name and the pictorial representation !Jf Chhatrapati Shivaji till May 31, 1969. After the
expiry of _the aforesaid date no further extension of time was granted.
The Joint· Registrar of Trade Marks (Respondent No. 3) by
Notice No. PR/2951 dated October 16, 1969, informed the firm that
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the use and registration of the name and the pictorial representation
of "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj" is prohibited by virtue of sections 3
and 4 of the impugned Act and the registration of the aforesaid Trade
Marks Nos. 12549 and 1~550 offended the provisions of section 11
of the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act 1958 read with section 32(b)
er- the said Act and, therefore, proposed to rectify the Register by
~--
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
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expunging therefrom the said Trade Marks under section 56( 4) of
the said Act.
The Registrar called upon the firm to submit objections if any.
The petitioners applied for extension of time to show
cause before the Registrar and ultimately moved these Writ applications challenging the constitutional validity of the Act and in particular
oi sections 3, 4 and 8 of the Act as well as of the Notification of
the Central Government dated March 16, 1968.
They have also
prayed for quashing the Notice of the Registrar dated October 16,
1969. A rule nisi was obbned on March 2, 1970, with interim stay
preventing the Government from enforcing the provisions of the Act.
Mr. Bal, learned counsel for the petitioners, submits that the Act
is void for want of legislative competence of the Parliament.
According to him the subject matter of the legislation relates to "trade
and commerce'" and, therefore, falls squarely within entry No. 26 of
List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. Hence the Parlia- ·
ment is not competent to make the law in question.
On the other
band, the learned Solicitor General, contends that the pith and subD
stance of the legislation as gathered from the preamble, the marginal
note of section 3 and the illustrations furnished by -the Schedule is
the preservation of sanctity of the names and emblems of international
and national entities, and not "Trade and commerce lvithin the State".
Hence the residuary entry 97 of List I will be attracted. Alternatively,
be submits the legislation is closer to entry No. 49 "Patents, invenE
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tions, designs, copyright, trade marks and merchandise marks" in
List N0. I of the Seventh Schedule.
In considering the question of competency of legislation and, for
the matter of that, in interpreting the entries in the Lists of the
Seventh Schedule a broad and liberal approach has been a well-settled
rule of the Court. The subject matter of the legislation is also to be
gathered from the totality of the provisions of the Act read with the
preamble and the Schedule. So read it is clear that the Act does not
concern itself directly or even substantially with trade or commerce.
Entry 49 of List I may well supply the coverage for the Union
·legislative field so far as the Act is concerned. Trade marks, designs .
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and merchandise marks may legitimately take in matters relating to
their abuses and improper uses.
Even otherwise the residuary entry
97 of List I is of wide amplitude to take care of the particular subject
matter of legislation, namely, prevention of improper use of certain
emblems and names for professional and/ or commercial purposes.
The objection on the score of legislative incompetency of Parliament
is. therefore, devoid of merit.
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Next attack is upon sections 3, 4 and 8 of the Act. It is contended
that sections 3, 4 and 8 cqnfer unguided, uncana!ised and arbitrary
power on the Ce?tral Governm~nt t~": exercise of which is cap~ble
o1 leading to discnmma!Ion and 1mpos11Ion of unreasonable restnct10ns
on the fundamental rights of the citizens under
articles
14
and
s. WAGHIRE & co. v. UNION (Goswami, J.)
19(1)(f) and (g) of the Constitution. It is emphasised that there
is no guideline in the Act for exercise of power. There is, therefore,
the vice of excessive delegation of legislative power, says counsel.
Let us, therefore, have a background of the promulgation of the
Act. The Statement of Objects and Reasons will make the position
clear and may be quoted in exlenso :
"The General Assembly of the United Nation Organisation
recommended in 1946 that members of United Nations
should take necessary legislative or other appropriate
measures to prevent the use, without proper authority,
and in particular for commercial
purposes, of
the
emblem, . the official seal and the name of the United
Nations and of the abbreviations of that name.
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·similar recommendation .has since been received also
from the World Health Organisation for prevention Qf
the use of its name (and abbreviations), emblem and
official seal.
Instances have also come to light of the
use in India (and abroad) of the Indian National Flag
and emblem and of the names or pictorial representations of Mahatma Gandhi and other national leaders,
for commercial and trade purposes and in· a manner
likely to offend the sentiments of the people .• The provisions of the Indian Trade Marks Act, 1940, Indian
Patents and Designs Act, 1911, Indian Merchandise
Marks Act, 1889, and the Indian Companies Act, 1913,
are not adequate to prevent these abuses._ The
Bill
seeks to prevent the improper use Qf
these names,
emblems, etc., for the purpose of trade, business;calling,
profession, patent or design, and to impcse a penalty for
misuse of emblems, etc., specified in the Schedule and
empowers the Central Government to make additions
and amendments in the Schedule as and when necessary".
'What is in a name' may not always be innocent.
Logically,
proper names are not connotative but have often gathered a content,
a halo, around them sometimes or for all times to come.
National
or international significance gets attached to certain ,names or institutions over the years or ages and then they belong to the nation or to
nations.
Human sentiments and often a deep sense of religiosity
pervade through and provide a sacred mantle as it were to the nomenclature. Jn order to arouse national sentiments everywhere invocation
of "Chhatrapati Shivaji" in manifold ways in the era of struggle fot
independence of. our country is now, hy turn of history, replaced by
an ar~ent worship of the proud hentage by a grateful nation.
Law
reflectmg the nallonal consciousness, therefore, forbids ordinary commercial use of the sacred name by individuals in their own interest as
opposed to national interest.
We take it that the scheme disclosed in the provisions of the
Act read with the preamble, and the Objects and Reasons make it
clear that there was imperative necessity for regulating the use of
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1975] SUPP. S.C.R.
certain emblemi and names.
The fact that only improper use of
the names and emblems is prohibited. itself provides guidance.
The
original entries in the Schedule would also point to the nature and
character of the names, emblems and entities. It is not possible for
the 'Parliament to envisage the possibility of improper use of all names
and emblems as time goes on.
Nor is it possible to enumerate in
the Schedule an exhaustive list of all the names, emblems and entities.
Section 8, therefore, makes provision for empowering the
Central
Government to add to or alter the Schedule. In the nature of things,
there is no abdication of legislative function by Parliament in delegating its power under section 8 in favour of the Central Government
which will be the appropriate authority to consider from time to time
as to the items to be included in or omitted from the Schedule in the
light of knowledge and experience gathered from the nook and corner
of the eutire country. There is, therefore, no excessive delegation of
legislative power by Parliament in favour of the Central Government.
From the Objects and Reasons, the preamble and the Provisions of the
Act with the built-in limitations in section 3 taken with the Schedule, a
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policy is clearly discernible and there is sufficient guidance therein to
enable the Central Government to exercise its power under the Act.
The relevant matters mentioned above are sufficiently informative of
the policy of the law to rob the efficacy of an argument on the score
of scantiness in the Act. The impugned N otiJication dated March 16,
1968 of the Central Government under section 8 cannot, therefore, be
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invalid. The objection on the score of Article 14 is of no avail.
There is also no merit in the contention that section 3 and 4
violate the provisions of Article 19 (1) (f) and (g) of the Constitution. The petitioners' right tμ trade in bidis is not at all interfered with
by the legislation. Section 3 in terms provides for enabling the affected
persons to adjust their business or affairs inasmuch as the Central
Government c~a permit some time to alter their emblems, designs, etc.
to carry on with their trade. Indeed in the present case the petitioners
on their own application obtained an extension of time presumably
under section 3 of the Act and, therefore, cannot complain on that
score. Th~re is built-in safeguard in section 3 itself for mitigating
any hardship to persons or any rigour of the Iaw. The provisions are
accordingly regulatory in nature and even, if at all, impose only reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the petitioners' right under Article
19 ( l) ( f) and (g) . Section 4 is a consequential provision and validly
co-exists with sectio11 3.
It is also contended by the petitioners that no rules have been
.framed under section 9 of the Act which make the same unworkable.
We are not impressed by this argument. From the scheme and machiH
nery of the Act there is nothing to indicate tbat absence of rules will
make the Act unworkable. The submission is devoid of substance.
Lastly it was submitted that the Notification under section 8 was
not published in the name of the President and was issued by the
Under Secretary who was not authorised to do so. The Notification
is not an executive order but is a piece of subordinate legislation
s. WAGHIRE & co. v. UNION (Goswami, J.)
IT
made by the Central Government under section 8 of the Act. It was
A
duly published in the Gazette of India over the signature of the
t·
l!nder Secretary who was authorised for the purpose. The question
of violation Qf Article 77 d,oes not arise.
Since the Act and the impugned provisions are constitutionally
valid, objection to the Notice of the Joint Registrar dated October
B:
16, 1969, is also of no avail.
In the result the petitions are dismissed but
there will be no
order as to costs.
Petitions dismissed
V.M.K.