# RASHBIHARI PANDA ETC v. STATE OF ORISSA

- **Citation:** [1969] 3 S.C.R. 374
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1969-01-16
- **Case number:** Civil Appeals Nos.· 1472 to 1474 of 1968
- **Bench:** M. Hidayatullah
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/rashbihari-panda-etc-v-state-of-orissa-4874
- **Pages:** 13

## Headnote

J. C. SHAH,
V. RAMASWAMI,
G. K. MITTER AND A. N. GROVER, JJ.J
Orissa Kendu Leaves (Control of Trade) Act (28 of 1961) s. 10Scheme of Government for sale and ·disposal of leaves purchased by itContracts tvith. and invitation to offer, restricted to licencees of previous
year-If violative of Arts. 14 c.nd 19(1)(g) of Constitution-Art. 19(6)
(ii)-Mo1wpo/y of Government-Tests for validity-Bona fides of Governn1ent and error of judg111ent by Governrnent-1/ a defence to discri111inatio11.
Kendu tree is a wild growth and its Jeaf is used mainly in the manufacture of bidis.
To regulate trade in Kendu leaves and prevent exploitation of growers and pluckers the respondent-State adopted diverse measures.
In 1961, the Orissa Kendu I.eaves (Control of Trade) Act, 1961,
was enacted. By s. 3 of the Act no person other than the Government,
an authorised officer of the Government, or an agent appointed by the
Government, shall purchase or transport Kendu leaves; and under s. 4
the Government is authorised to fix the price at which the leaves shall be
purchased from the gro\\•ers by the officer or agent of the Government.
Section JO provides that the Kendu leaves purchased shall be sold or
disposed of iu such manner as the Government may direct, and under s.
11, at least one half of the net profits derived by the Government is to be
paid to Sa111itis and Gram Panchayats. A grow~r of Kendu leaves chal·
lcnged ss. 3 and/4 and r. 7(5) made under the Act as infringing his
fundamental rights under Arts. 14 and 19(1)(f) and (g). This Court, in
Akudasi Padh<n v. State of Orissa, (1963] Supp. 2 S.C.R. 691, held that
ss. 3 and 4 did not infringe Art. 19(6)(ii), but that the State was in·
competent to implement the provisions of the Act and give effect to its
n1onopoly. because, the agents appointed \vere not really agents of the
Government but were autho'rised to carry on trade in the leaves purchased
not on behalf of the Government but on their own account, and that it
thus gave rise to a monopoly in favour of the agents which was not pro·
tectcd by Art. 19(6)(ii) since the law cannot be used by the State for
the private benefit of agents.
Thereafter. the State- made some changes
in the implementotion of its monopoly.
In J 966, it inrited tenders from
persons desirous of purchasing Kendu leaves purchased by the. officers and
agents of the Government.
During the years 1966 and 1967, the prices
of Kendu leaves ruled very high and when sales \Vere effected by public
auction, prices .;onsiderably in excess of those at which
tenders
\\.'ere
nccepted \\'ere realised.
Early in 1968, the State evolved another scheme
under which. the State offered to renew the licences of those traders who
in the State's view had worked Satisfactorily in the previous year_ and had
paid the amounts due from them regularly. The scheme was objected to.
and realising thJt, the scheme a'rbitrarily excluded many persons interested
in the trade-. and hence was objectionable, the Government dec,ided to in·
vite offers for advance purchases of Kendu leaves but restricted the invitation to those individuals who had carried out the contracts in the previous
year without default and to the satisfaction of the Government, that is,
the existing contractors were given the exclusive right to make offers to
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RASHBIHARI PANDA v. ORISSA (Shah, J.)
375
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purchase Ke11du leaves.
This new method
of offering
to enter
into
agreements for advance purchases ot' Kendu leaves by private
offers in
preference to open competition, was challenged by writ petitions in the
High Court as violative of the petitioner's fundamental rights under Arts.
14 and l9(l)(g).
The High Court held that under s. JO of the Act the Government
cpuld dispose of the leaves in such manner as it thought fit, that the only
B
question for the Court was whether in adopting the new scheme of offer:ing
to enter into advance purchase contracts
by
private
negotiation
the
Govern.ment had acted bona fide, and that the petition

## Text

RASHBIHARI PANDA ETC.
v.
STATE OF ORISSA
January 16, 1969
(M. HIDAYATULLAH, C.J.,
J. C. SHAH,
V. RAMASWAMI,
G. K. MITTER AND A. N. GROVER, JJ.J
Orissa Kendu Leaves (Control of Trade) Act (28 of 1961) s. 10Scheme of Government for sale and ·disposal of leaves purchased by itContracts tvith. and invitation to offer, restricted to licencees of previous
year-If violative of Arts. 14 c.nd 19(1)(g) of Constitution-Art. 19(6)
(ii)-Mo1wpo/y of Government-Tests for validity-Bona fides of Governn1ent and error of judg111ent by Governrnent-1/ a defence to discri111inatio11.
Kendu tree is a wild growth and its Jeaf is used mainly in the manufacture of bidis.
To regulate trade in Kendu leaves and prevent exploitation of growers and pluckers the respondent-State adopted diverse measures.
In 1961, the Orissa Kendu I.eaves (Control of Trade) Act, 1961,
was enacted. By s. 3 of the Act no person other than the Government,
an authorised officer of the Government, or an agent appointed by the
Government, shall purchase or transport Kendu leaves; and under s. 4
the Government is authorised to fix the price at which the leaves shall be
purchased from the gro\\•ers by the officer or agent of the Government.
Section JO provides that the Kendu leaves purchased shall be sold or
disposed of iu such manner as the Government may direct, and under s.
11, at least one half of the net profits derived by the Government is to be
paid to Sa111itis and Gram Panchayats. A grow~r of Kendu leaves chal·
lcnged ss. 3 and/4 and r. 7(5) made under the Act as infringing his
fundamental rights under Arts. 14 and 19(1)(f) and (g). This Court, in
Akudasi Padh<n v. State of Orissa, (1963] Supp. 2 S.C.R. 691, held that
ss. 3 and 4 did not infringe Art. 19(6)(ii), but that the State was in·
competent to implement the provisions of the Act and give effect to its
n1onopoly. because, the agents appointed \vere not really agents of the
Government but were autho'rised to carry on trade in the leaves purchased
not on behalf of the Government but on their own account, and that it
thus gave rise to a monopoly in favour of the agents which was not pro·
tectcd by Art. 19(6)(ii) since the law cannot be used by the State for
the private benefit of agents.
Thereafter. the State- made some changes
in the implementotion of its monopoly.
In J 966, it inrited tenders from
persons desirous of purchasing Kendu leaves purchased by the. officers and
agents of the Government.
During the years 1966 and 1967, the prices
of Kendu leaves ruled very high and when sales \Vere effected by public
auction, prices .;onsiderably in excess of those at which
tenders
\\.'ere
nccepted \\'ere realised.
Early in 1968, the State evolved another scheme
under which. the State offered to renew the licences of those traders who
in the State's view had worked Satisfactorily in the previous year_ and had
paid the amounts due from them regularly. The scheme was objected to.
and realising thJt, the scheme a'rbitrarily excluded many persons interested
in the trade-. and hence was objectionable, the Government dec,ided to in·
vite offers for advance purchases of Kendu leaves but restricted the invitation to those individuals who had carried out the contracts in the previous
year without default and to the satisfaction of the Government, that is,
the existing contractors were given the exclusive right to make offers to
A
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RASHBIHARI PANDA v. ORISSA (Shah, J.)
375
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purchase Ke11du leaves.
This new method
of offering
to enter
into
agreements for advance purchases ot' Kendu leaves by private
offers in
preference to open competition, was challenged by writ petitions in the
High Court as violative of the petitioner's fundamental rights under Arts.
14 and l9(l)(g).
The High Court held that under s. JO of the Act the Government
cpuld dispose of the leaves in such manner as it thought fit, that the only
B
question for the Court was whether in adopting the new scheme of offer:ing
to enter into advance purchase contracts
by
private
negotiation
the
Govern.ment had acted bona fide, and that the petitioners failed to sho\v
that in exercising its dbcrction the Government acted arbitrarily or without bona fir/es.
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In appeal to this Court,
HELD : The validity of a law by which the State assumed the monopoly to trade in a given commodity has to be judged by the test whether
the entire benefit arising therefrom is to cnure to the State, and the monopoly is not used <ts a cloak for conferring private benefit upon a limited
class of persons.
The monopoly of purchasing· Kendu leaves under s. 3
may be held to be valid if, it be administered only for the benefit of the
State.
Similarly, the right to
sell or
dispose of Kendu leaves by
the
State under s. 10, in such inanncr as the Government may direct, would
be valid if it be exercised in public interest and not to serve the private
interests of any person or c)ass of persons. The profit resulting from the
sale must be for the public benefit and not for private gain.
Section 11
also emphasises the concept that the machinery of sale or disposal of the
leaves must also be geared to serve· the public interest. _ If the scheme
of disposal creates a class of middle men who could purchase from the
Government at concessional rates and earn large profits disp'roportionatc
to the nature of the service rendered or duty performed by them. it cannot clai111 the protection of Art. 19(6) (ii) as it is not open to the Government to create a monopoly in favou·r of third parties from its own monopoly.
(383 D-G; 385A-B]
In the present ,,1ase, the right to make offers being open to a limited'
class of persons it effectively shut out all other persons carrying on trade
in Kendu leaves ~rs well as new entrants into the trade. Both the schemes,
evolved by the Government, namely : the one of offering to enter into
confracts with certain named liccncees, and the other of inviting tenders
from liccncees who had in the previous year carried out their contracts
satisfactorily gave rise to a monopoly in the trade in the leaves to certain
~raders and singled out other traders fo'r discriminating treatment. Theretore, they were violative of the fundamental right of the petitioners under
Arts. 14 and 19(1) (g) and as the
schemes
were
not 'integrally and
essentia11y' connected- with the creatiOn of the Jnonopolv they \vere not
protected by Art. 19(6)(ii). [384 E-H; 385 B-DJ
·
la) 1f the only anxiety of the Government \Vas to ensure due performance by those vlho submitted tenders. Government could devise adequate
safeguards.
But the classification based on the circumstance that certain
existing contractors had carried cut their obligation in the previous year
regularly and to the satisfaction of the Government is not based on any
real and substantial distinction, bearing a just and reasonable relation to
the objects sought to be achieved namely, the effective execution of the
monopoly in public interest, the prevention of exploitation of pluckers and
growers of Kendu leaves, or the securing of the full benefit from the trade,
to the State.
[3840-H; 386B-DJ
376
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1969] 3 S.C.R.
( b) The
~chemc could not be supported on the ground
that
it
A
imposed reasonable restrictions, within the meaning of Art. 19(6), on the
fundamental rights o'f traders to carry on business
in
Kendu
leaves.
[385C-Dl
( c) The plea that the action of the Government was bona fide cannot
be an effective answer, because, the Government had not considered, the
prevailing ptices of Kendu leaves about the time when offers were made,
the estin1ated crop, the conditions in the market, offers of higher prices
B
and the likelihood of offerers of higher prices carrying out their obligations and whether it was in the interests of the State to invite tenders in
the open ma'rket fron1 all persons irrespective of their having taken con·
tracts in the previous year.
[385H; 386A-B]
(d) lt could not also be said that the Government merely committeJ
an error of judgment in adopting the impugned scheme.
It is not a case
.of the Government erring in the exercise of its discretion, but the action
C
of the Government was itself not valid.
[386 B·D]
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeals Nos.· 1472
to 1474 of 1968.
Appeals by special leave from the judgment and order dated
May 8, 1968 of the Orissa High Court in O.J.C. Nos. 49, 52
and 132 of 1968.
D
.1. B. Dadaclwnji, for the appellant (in C.As. Nos. 1472 and
1473 of 1968).
A. S. R. Chari, Govind Das and J. B. Dadachanji, for the
·pncllant (in C.A. No. 1474 of 1968).
C. K. Daphtary, Santosh Chatterjee and R. N. Sachthey, for
the respondent (in all the appeals).
The .T udgment of the Court was delivered by
Shah, J.
These appeals arise out of orders passed in
petitions moved before the High Court of Orissa challenging the
scheme adopted by the Government of Orissa for sale of Ke11d11
leaves in which the State has assumed a monopoly of trading.
by the Orissa Kendu Leaves (Control of Trade) Act 28 ,,f
1961.
Kendu tree is a wild growth.
Its leaf is used mainly in the
manufacture of bidis. To regulate the trade in Kendu leaves the
State of Orissa has adopted diverse executive and legislative measures.
In exercise of the powers conferred by s. 3 (1)
of the
Orissa Essential Articles Control and Requisitioning (Temporary
Powers) Act, 1947 the Government of Orissa issued the O:·issa
Kendu Leaves (Control and Distribution) Order, 1949, providing
for the issue of licences to person
trading in
Kendu leave,.
The District Magistrates were authorised
to fix the
minimum
-rates for purchase of Kendu leaves and the Order provided that
·1he licensees shall purchase Kendu leaves from the pluckers or
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RASHBIHARI PANDA v. ORISSA (Shah, J.)
377
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owners of private trees and forests at rates not below the minimum prescribed. A trader in Kendu leaves challenged the validity of the Act and the Order before the High Court of Orissa
on the plea that the State Legislature was incompetent to enact
the Act and that in any event the Act and the Order infringed
the guarantee of fundamental freedom to carry on business under
B
Art. 19(1 )(g) of the Constitution.
A Division Bench of the
Orissa High Court upheld the validity of the Act : Jagdish Patel
v. Patel Tobacco Company('). The Court observed that the
main purpose of the Order was to prevent indiscriminate and
unrestricted ~ompetition in the trade in Kendu leaves and to
protect the growers and pluckers from exploitation.
C
The Order of 1949 was replaced by another Order issued in
_I 960, but without any substantial changes in its principal provisions.
Thereafter the State Legislature enacted the Orissa
Ken du Leaves (Control of Trade) Act 28 of 1961.
By s. 3
of the Act no person other than (a) the Government; (b) an
officer of Government authorised in that behalf; ( c) an agent in
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respect of the unit in which the leaves have grown shall purchase
or transport Kendu leaves. By s. 4 it was enacted that the Government shall, after consultation with the Advisory Committee,
fix the price at which Kendu leaves shall be purchased by any
officer or agent from growers of Kendu leaves during any year.
By
s.
8 the Government was.
authorised
to
appoint
E
agents for different units to purchase Kendu leaves.
Section 10
provided that :
F
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"Kendu leaves purchased by Government or by their
officers or agents under this Act shall be sold or otherwise disposed of in such manner as Government may
direct."
Out of the net profits derived by the Government. from the
trade in Kendu leaves under the Act, by s. 11, an amount not
less than one half was to be paid to Samitis and Grama Panchayats. Sections 14, 15 and 16 dealt with penalties, attempts
and abetment of offences and procedure of courts.
Section 18
conferred upon the Government power to make rules for carrying out the purposes of the Act.
Agents were appointed by the Government of Orissa to purchase Kendu leaves.
The agents were authorised under the
agreements to purchase the Kendu leaves and also to trade in
the Kendu leaves purchased.
H
A grower of Kendu leaves moved a petition in this Court
contending that the principal provisions of the Act infringed his
(1) A.LR. 1952 Orissa 260.
378
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1969] 3 S.C.R.
.fundamental rights under Arts. 19(1 )(f) & (g) and Art. 14.
He challenged ss. ·3 and 4 and rule 7 ( 5) as infringing the
.fundamental right under Art. 19(l)(f) and (g) of the Constitution, and ss. 5, 6 and 9 as contravening the equality clause
of the Constitution. This Court held in Akadasi Padhan v. The
.State of Orissa (') that the Orissa Kendu (Control of Trade)
Act, 1961, was a valid piece oi legislation, and creation of a
State monopoly in Kendu leaves was protected by Art. 19 ( 6) as
amended by the Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951.
In the opinion of the Court, fixation of prices prescribed by s. 4
was. reasonable and in the interest of the general public both under
Art. 19(5) and Art. 19(6) and s. 4 of the Act was on that
account valid. The Court further held that section 3 which allowed the Government or an officer of the Government authorised
in that behalf or an agent in respect of the unit in which the
leaves were grown, to purchase or transport Kendu leaves for
.and on behalf of the Government, was not open to attack .. But
in the view of the Court the categories of persons mentioned in
els. (b) & (c) of s. 3 i.e. officers of' the Government and agents
were intended to work for the Government and all their actions
and dealings in pursuance of the provisions of the Act had to
be actions and dealings on behalf of and for the benefit of the
Government, and since under the agreement obtained from the
agent under r. 7(5) to work the monopoly of the State, the
appointees were not made agents in the strict sense or the term,
and were appointed to carry on trade on their own account, the
agreements were invalid.
The Court accordingly held that the
State Government was incompetent to implement the provisions
of the Act through the Agents appointed under those agrrements.
Thereafter the Government of Orissa made some changes in
the machinery for implementation of the monopoly and entered
into agreements. of sale of Kendu leaves a~ter inviting tenders
from traders.
Even against this scheme objections were raised.
It was claimed by persons interested in the production and trade
in Kendu leaves that the Government of Orissa merely resorted
to a- device of introducing purchasers who were mere associates
or nominees of the "so called agents," and that the position remained practically the same as in the days before the judgment
of this Court.
On February 2, 1966, the Government of orrssa invited
tenders from persons desirous of purchasing Kendu leaves purchased or collected by Government or by their officers or Agents
under the provisions of the Orissa Kendu Leaves (Control of
(l) [1963] Supp. 2 S.C.R. 6~1. ·
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RASHBIHARI PANDA v. ORISSA (Shah, J.)
379
Trade) Act, 1961, in the units as constituted lll!der s. 5 of the
Act. In the last paragraph of the tender notice it was stated :
"If the person appointed as Purchaser during the
currency of his agreement in respect of any Unit duly
observes and performs all the terms and conditions to
the satisfaction of the Government and if the Government are satisfied that the Purchaser has been prompt
in taking delivery of leaves and making payments, the
Government may grant to the Purchaser a renewal of
his appointment for one year on such terms and conditions as may be mutually agreed upon."
During the years 1966 and 1967 the prices of Kendu leaves
ruled very high and when sales were effected on behalf of the
Government of Orissa in certain cases by public auctions, prices
considerably in excess of those at which tenders were accepted
were realized.
Early in 1968 letters were addressed to certain
traders intimating that it had been decided by the-"tiovernment
of Orissa to renew "leases of Kendu leaf Units" held by them,
for the year 1968 if they accepted the terms set out therein.
Under this scheme the Government pllered to those licensees
who in their view had worked satisfactorily in the previous year
and had paid the amounts due from them regularly to continue
their licences with the added provision that the a~ents with whom
they had been working in 1967 will also work during 1968.
The link between the agent and the purchaser which had been
the subject-matter of agitation in previous years. it was claimed,
was extended by the scheme.
On January 24, 1968, a petition was moved by Rashbihari
Panda in the High Court of Orissa under Art .. 226 of the Constitution challenging the action of the Government.
The Government, it appears, had second thoughts and the oilers to renew the previous licenses were withdrawn and the licensees were
informed that the Government had decided to invite oilers for
advance-purchases from persons who had purchased Kendu leaves
from individual units during the year 1967 and had not committed default in payment of the dues.
Other writ petitions were
filed challenging the legality of the new method adopted by the
State Government of offering to enter into agreements for advance purchases of Kendu leaves by private oilers in preference
to open competition.
It was urged on behalf of the petitioners that in seeking to
enter into agreements for advance purchase contracts for Kendu
leaves by private negotiation the State Government sought to
support their party interests in preference to public benefit envisaged by the State monopoly, and that the so-called State
380
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[!969] 3 S.C.R.
monopoly trade in Kendu leaves "was a colourable device to make
it appear constitutional and permissible under Art. 19(6)(ii) of
the Constitution'', whereas in truth it was intended to benefit
only the supporters of the party in power, and the scheme on
that account '\vas a fraud on the Constitution". The new scheme,
it was said, was devised for the purpose of increasing the party
funds to the detriment of public revenue, and on that account the
act of the State Government was ''ma/a fide and unconstitutional''.
The petitioners claimed that the Government of Orissa
had classified the units into five sections raising the royalty or
share of profit from the purchaser from Rs. 44 to a maximum
amount of Rs. 64 whereas the offer of one of the petitioners who
offered Rs. I 00 per bag in addition to the rates offered by the
Government by a telegram early in January 1968 and followed
by a confirmatory letter, was not accepted. It was further said
that an offer made by a manufacturer of bidis to purchase the
entire crop for a total amount of rupees three crores was also
not accepted.
On behalf of the State it was submitted that till 1967 no
rate was fixed for dried and processed leaves in the hands of
the growers but when the new Ministry assumed office in 1967
the minimum price was fixed at Rs. 35 per bag of processed
leaves in the hands of the growers, which was later raised to
Rs. 45 per bag, and the remuneration payable to p!uckers was
also raised under orders issued by the Government, and as a
result thereof it was anticipated that the pluckers and growers
would earn Rs. 47 lakhs in addition to the amount they had
earned in 1967; that the scheme of making an offer to established licensees was evolved with a view to "close the channels
of corruption and the policy had eliminated all sorts of negotiations or personal approach in the matter of sale of Kendu leave>
by the Government", and after careful consideration. the Government determined the fair price that may be realized by selling
Kendu leaves; that the dealers who were given contracts for ·two
years by the previous .Ministries had been offered options to
purchase the leaves at rates higher than those obtaining during
the last few years and that under the new policy the profits earned rose from Rs. 1,00,75,000 in 1962-63 to Rs. 1,91,00,000 in
1968-69.
It was also submitted that under s. I 0 of the Kendu
Leaves (Control of Trade) Act, the Government was authorised to dispose of the Kendu leaves in such manner as the Government may direct and thereby the authority vested in the Government t\) use their discretion "was not amenable to the writ
jurisdictiorl of the High Court", and that from the data furnished
it was clear that the Government had acted in the best interests
of the State and the "figures showed their bona fides
in
the
matter".
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RASHDIHARI PANDA v. ORISSA (Shah, /.)
38f
The High Court was of the view that the State having assumed monopoly of trading in Kendu leaves was alone entitled
to purchase the Kendu leaves from the primary producers, ~
was by s. 10 authorised to dispose of the leaves "in such manner
as the Government may direct". Section 10, in the view of the
High Court, placed no restriction on the manner in which the
B
Government may sell Kendu foaves, and the only question which
the Court had to consider was whether in adopting the new
scheme of offering to enter into advance purchase contracts by
private negotiations for selling Kendu leaves in 1968 the Government had acted bona fide.
The High Court observed :
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" ...... we hold that the Government's exercise of
the power or discretion under s. 10 cannot be said to
be arbitrary as it is open to the Government to direct
the sale or disposal of Kendu leaves in any manner
they may direct--either by advance purchase contracts
by private negotiations or by public auction or by tender; it is not a case where the State Government has
exercised this power or discretion without jurisdiction.
The Court is not concerned with the propriety of the
Government's action in adopting the particular manner of sale or disposal as it purported to direct. Evidently, the Government acted, as any prudent businessman would do, for the purpose of getting the maximum
revenuer-net profits-from the trade in Kendu leaves.
Government's ·direction, in exercise of the power of
discretion conferred on them under s. 10, as to whether
a particular manner of sale or disposal will be suitable
in a particular year, will depend entirely on their subjective satisfaction, upon consideration of a number of
factors which may vary from year to year.
Such
direction by the State Government as to the particular
manner of sale or disposal in a particular year, as dependent on the subjective satisfaction of the Government as aforesaid, is not justiciable. There is also nothing on record to show lack of bona {ides on the part of
the State Government in adopting the manner it did
private negotiations-in the matter of sale of Kendu
leaves in 1968; nor have we been shoWn any material
to hold that its action was capricious or arbitrary or
in excess of its jurisdiction."
Article 19(1)(f) guarantees the citizens the right to acquire,
hold and dispose of property, and Art. 19(1)(g) guarantees the
H
right to practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation,
trade or business. The right under cl. (f) is subject to reasonable restrictions which the State may impose on the exercise of
the right in the interests of the general public or for the pro11 Sul' C.1./69~
382
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
(1969) 3 S.C.R
tection of the interests of any scheduled tribe.
Clause ( 6) of
Art. 19 which was amended by the Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951, sets out the restrictions which may be imposed
upon the right to practise a profession or to carry on any occupation. trade or business.
It states :
"Nothing in sub-clause (g) of the said clause shall
affect the operation of any existing law in so far as it
imposes, or prevent the State from making any law
imposing, in the interests of the general public, reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub-clause, and, in particular, nothing in the said sub-clause shall affect the operation of
any existing law in so far as it relates to, or prevent
the State from making any law relating to, -
( j)
(ii) the carrying on by the State, or by a corporation owned or controlled by the Sta,te, of any trade,
business, industry or service, whether to the exclusion, complete or partial. of c)tizens or otherwise."
In A kadsi Padhan's case(') this Court beld that by the amendments in Art. 19(6) it was intended that the State monopoly in
respect of any trade or business must be pr.esumed to be reasonable and in the interests of the .general public; that the expression "law relating to" occurring in cl. (ii) means "essential
;ind basic provisions" enacted to give effect to the monopoly i.e.
provisions "integrally and essentially connected with the creation
of the monopoly";
that the provisions which are incidental or
subsidiary to the creation or operation of the monopoly must
satisfy the test of the main clause, and that if the law infringes
uny other fundamental right in cl. ( 1) of Art. 19 it must be
tested under the appropriate provision governing it.
The Court
accordingly held that ss. 3 and 4 of the Act were valid but declined in substance to give effect to the monopoly because the
agents appointed were not agents of the Government merely for
purchasing Kendu leaves but were authorised to carry on trade
in leaves purchased on their own account. The operation of the
State monopoly was in the view of the Court to give rise to a
monopoly in favour 'of the agents which had not the protection
of Art. 19 ( 6 )(ii). The Court observed that the appointee must
be "an agent of the Government strictly so-called" acting for and
on behalf of the Government and not on his own behalf. The
Court while upholding the grant of monopoly by s. 3 of the Act
to the Government to carry on the business of purchasinf! Kendu
leaves was of the view that the law cannot be used by the State
for the private benefit of agents; it must only be administered
(I) [1961] ~11op. 2 S.C.R. 601.
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RASHBIHARI PANDA V. ORISSA (Shah, /.)
383
tor the benefit of the general public, and any arrangement in
which under the guise of a monopoly the State pennitted a set
of persons to make profit for themselves by carrying on business
in Kendu leaves on their own behalf was invalid.
It is urged by th~ appellants that the machinery devised by
the Government for sale of Kendu leaves in which they had
acquired a monopoly to trade was violative of the fundamental
rights guaranteed under Arts. 14 and 19(l)(g) of the Constitution.
It is. said that the purchasers are merely nominees of th\:
agents.
It is also claimed that after this Court struck down a
scheme under which the agents were to carry on business in
Kendu leaves on their own account and to make profit for themselves.
the Government with a view to help
their party-men
set up a body of persons who were to be purchasers to whom
the monopoly sales were to be made at concessional rates and
that the benefit which would have otherwise been earned by the
State accrued to those purchasers.
Section 10 of the Act is a counter-part of s. 3 and authorises
the Government to sell or o!herwise dispose of Kendu leaves in
such manner as the Government may direct. If the monopoly
of purchasing Kendu leaves by s. 3 is valid, insofar as it is
intended to be administered only for the benefit of the State, the
sale or disposal of Kendu leaves by the Government must also
be in the public interest and not to serve the private interests of
any person or class of persons. lt is true that it is for the Government, having regard to all the circumstances, to act its a
prudent business-man would, and to sell or otherwise dispose of
Kendu leaves purchased under the monopoly acquired under s.
3, but the profit resulting from the sale must be for the public
benefit and not for private gain. Section 11 which provides that
out of the net profits derived by the Government from the trade
in Kendu leaves an amount not less than one half is to be paid
to the Samitis and Grama Panchayats emphasises the concept that
the machinery of sale or disposal of Kendu leaves must also be
geared to serve the public interest. lf the scheme of disposal
creates a class of middle-men who would purchase from the Gov·
emment Kendu leaves at concessional rates I and would earn large
profits disproportionate to the nature of the service rendered or
duty perfonned by them, it cannot claim the protection of Art.
19(6)(ii).
Section 10 leaves the method of sale or disposal of Kendu
leaves to the Government as they think fit.
Tne action of the
Government if conceived and executed in the interest of the
general public is not open to judicial scrutiny.
But it is not
given to the Government thereby to create a monopoly in favour
of 'third parties from their own monopoly.
384
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[1969] 3 S.C.R
\ Jidity of the schemes adopted by the Government of
Orissa for sate ot Kendu leaves must be adjudged in the light of
Art. 19(1J (g) and Art. 14.
lnstead of inviting tenders the
Governme.u offered tu certain old contractors the optiQn to
purchase Kendu leaves for the years 1968 on terms mentioned
therein.
·;;,e reason suggested by the Government that thes<
offers were made because the purchasers had carried out their
obligations in the iJreviJus year to the satisfaction of th.o Gov·
ernment is not of any significance.
From the affidavit filed by
the State Government it appears that the price fetched at public
auctions before and after January 1968 were much higher than
the prices at which Kendu leaves were offered to the old con·
tractors.
The Government redised that the Scheme of offering
to enter into contracts with the old licensees and to renew their
terms was open to grave objection, since it sought arbitrarily to
exclude many persons interested in the trade. The Government
then decided to invite offers for advance purchases of
Kendu
leaves but restricted the invitation to those individuals who had
carried out the contracts in the previous year without default and
to the satisfaction of the Government.
By the new scheme instead of the Government making an offer, the existing contractors were given the exclusive right to make offers to purchase
Kendu leaves.
But insofar as the right to make tenders for the
purchase of Kendu leaves was restricted to those persons who had
obtained contracts in the previous year the scheme was open to
the same objection.
The right to make offers being open to
a limited class of persons it effectively shut out all other persons
carrying on trade in Kendu leaves and also new entrants into
that business. It w~s ex facie discriminatory, and imposed unreasonable restrictions upon the right of persons other than existing contractors to carry 011 business.
In our view, both the
schemes evolved by the Government were violative of the fundamental right of the petitioners under Art. 19 ( 1 )( g) and Art.
14 because the schemes gave rise to a monopoly in the trade in
Kendu leaves to certain traders, and singled out other traders for
discriminatory treatment.
The classification based on the circumstance that certain
existing contractors had carried out their obligations in the previous year regularly and to the satisfaction of the Government is
not based on any real and substantial distinction bearing a just
and reasonable relation to the object sought to be achieved i.e ..
effective execution of the monopoly in the public interest. ExchLsion of all persons interested in the trade, who were not in the
previous year licensees is ex facie arbitrary : it had no direct relation to the object of preventing exploitation of pluckers and growers of Kendu leaves, nor had it any just or reasonable relation
10 the securing of the full benefit from the trade, to the State.
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RASHB!HARI PANDA v. OR!SSA (Shah, J.)
385
Validity of the law by which the State assumed the monopoly to trade in a given commodity has to be judged by the test
whether the entire benefit arising therefrom is to enure to the
State, and the monopoly is. not used as a cloak for conferring
private benefit upon a limited class of persons.
The scheme
adopted by the Government first of offering to enter into contracts with certain named licensees,
and later inviting tenders
from licensees who had in the previous year carried out their
contracts satisfactorily is liable to be adjudged
void
on the
ground that it unreasonably excludes traders in Kendu leaves
from carrying on their business.
The scheme of selling Kendu
}eaves to selected purchasers or of accepting tenders only from
a specified class of purchasers was not "integrally and essentially"
connected with the creation of the monopoly and was not on
the view taken by this Court in Akadasi Padhan's case(') protectei by Art. 19 ( 6 )(ii): it had therefore to satisfy the requirement of reasonableness u;nder the first pa;t of Art. 1 9 ( 6). No
attempt was made to support the scheme on the ground that it
imposed reasonable restrictions on the fundamental rights of the
traders to carry on business in Kendu leaves.
The High Court
also did not consider whether the restrictions imposed upon per-
'ons excluded from the benefit of trading satisfied the test of
reasonableness under the first part of Art. 19 ( 6).
The High
Court examined the problem from the angle whether the action
of the· State Government was vitiated on account of any oblique
motive, and whether it was such as a prudent person carrying on ·
business may adopt.
No explanation has been attempted on behalf of the State as
to why an offer made by a well-known manufacturer of hidi<
interested in the trade to purchase the entire crop of Kendu leaves
for the year 1968 for rupees three crores was turned down. If
the interests of the State alone were to be taken into consideration, the State stood to gain more than rupees one crore by accepting that offer.
We are not suggesting that merely because
that offer was made, the Government was bound to accept it.
The Government had to consider, as a prudent businessman,
whether, having regard to the circumstances, it should accep' the
offer, especially in the light of the financial position of the offeror, the security which he was willing to give arui the effect
which the acceptance of the offer may have on the other trader;
and the general public interest.
The learned Judges of the High Court have observed that in
their view the exercise of the discretion was not shown to be
arbitrary, nor was the action shown to be Jacking in bona fides.
But that conclusion is open to criticism that the Government is
not shown to have considered the prevailing prices of Kendu
(I) [1963] Supp. 2 S.C.R. 691,
386
SUPREME COURT 'REPORTS
[1969] 3 S.C.R.
leaves about the time when offers were made, the estimated crop
of Kendu leaves, the conditions in the market and the likelihood
of offerors at higher prices carrying out their obligations, 3nd
whether it was in the interests of the State to invite tenders in
the open market from all persons whether they had or had not
taken contracts in the previous year. If the Government was
anxious to ensure due. performance by those who submitted tenders for purchase of Kendu leaves, it was open to the Government to devise adequate safeguards in that behalf. In our judg,
ment, the plea that the action of the Government was bona fide
cannot be an effective answer to a claim made by a citiz.en that
his fundamenJal rights were infringed by the action of the Government, nor can the claim of the petitioners be defeated on the
plea that the Government in adopting the impugned scheme commi~ted an error of judgment. The plea would have assisted the
Government if the action was in law valid and the objection was
that the Government erred in the exercise of. its discretion. It is
unnecessary in the circumstances to consider whether the Government acted in the interest of their party-men and to increase party
funds in devising the schemes for sale of Kendu lea,ves in 1968.
During the pendency of these proceedings the entire year for
which 'the contracts were given has expired.
The persons to
wl)om the contracts were given are not before us, and we cannot
declared the contracts which had ben entered into by the Government for thC"sale of Kendu leaves for the year 1968 unlawful
in these proceedings.
Counsel for the appellants agree that it
would be sufficient if it be directed that the tenders for purchase
of Kendu leaves 'be invited by·the Government in the next season from all persons interested in the trade.
We trust that in
accepting tenders, the State Government will act in the interest
of the general public and not of any class of traders so that in
the next season the State may get the entire benefit of the monopoly in the trade in Kendu leaves and no disproportionate share
thereof may be diverted to any· private agency. Subject to these·
observations we make no further order in the petitions out of
which these appeals arise.
There will be no order as to CO!!ts in all these appeals throughout.
V.P.S.
Scheme declared invalid:
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