9911796707
TMI Blog1978 (12) TMI 192X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the appellant's sugar factory. On November 12, 1954 (i.e. within 14 days of the reservation of the sugarcane centres) the respondent No. 4 (Laskar Co-operative Cane Development Union Ltd.) made an offer for the 1954-55 crushing season for the supply of 6 lac maunds of sugarcane out of a total estimated yield of 12 lac maunds of sugarcane from certain centres. This offer was accepted by the appellant-firm on November 27, 1954 (i.e. within 14 days of the receipt of the offer) and an agreement in the prescribed Form 'C' was duly executed on February 9, 1955. It contained the usual term that the appellant-firm will pay for the sugarcane supplied to it at the minimum price notified by the Government subject to such deductions, if any, as may be notified by the Government from time to time . On March 22, 1955 the respondent No. 4 made another offer for supplying additional quantity of 2 lac maunds of sugarcane to the appellant-firm, which offer was also accepted on May 4, 1955 and a composite agreement in prescribed Form 'C' was entered into on that very day for the supply of 8 lac maunds of sugarcane (inclusive of the initial 6 lac maunds). This agreement also conta ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... as liable to pay the minimum price therefor. Aggrieved by the award the appellant-firm preferred an appeal to the Divisional Commissioner, Meerut under Rule 118 of the said Rules, but the appeal was dismissed on March 30, 1963. The appellant-firm challenged the legality of the award of the District Cane Officer as also the appellate order of the Divisional Commissioner by means of a writ Petition in the Allahabad High Court being Civil Miscellaneous Writ No. 2003 of 1963. The learned Single Judge who heard the writ petition dismissed the same by his judgment and order dated October 24, 1967. A further Special Appeal No. 1068 of 1967 carried by the appellant-firm to the Division Bench of that Court also proved unsuccessful on December 5, 1967. The appellant-firm has come up in appeal to this Court. The only contention that was urged by counsel for the appellant firm before us in this appeal was that the supply of two lac maunds of sugarcane made by respondent No. 4 to the appellant-firm was not bonded sugarcane at all and as such the appellant-firm was entitled to the concessions (deductions) in the minimum price payable in respect thereof to respondent No. 4 in vi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 4, that the agreement entered into between the parties on May 4, 1955 in respect of the said supply must be regarded as an ordinary contract under the Indian Contract Act and that the sugarcane supplied under such ordinary contract must be regarded as unbonded sugarcane. In other words, the contention was that only such sugarcane as would be supplied by a cane-grower or a Cane- growers' Cooperative Society under an agreement made in strict compliance of sub-cls. (2) and (3) of cl. 3 of the U.P. Sugarcane Supply and Purchase Order, 1954 could be regarded as bonded sugarcane. The question raised in the appeal really turns upon what is meant by the expression unbonded sugarcane occurring in the Cane Commissioner's Notification dated June 1, 1955 and the true effect of sub-cls. (2) and (3) of cl. 3 of the U.P. Sugarcane Supply and Purchase Order, 1954. It must be stated, however, that neither the expression bonded sugarcane nor unbonded sugarcane has been defined either in the statute or in the U.P. Sugarcane Supply and Purchase Order 1954 and, therefore, regard must be had to the ordinary dictionary meaning of the said expressions. In Shorter Oxford English Dict ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n any area (hereinafter called an assigned area) for the purpose of the supply of sugarcane to a factory in accordance with the provisions of s.16 during one or more crushing seasons as may be specified. It was under this provision that the Cane Commissioner has passed order dated November 1, 1954 reserving certain sugarcane centres (reserved area) for the appellant firm for the 1954-55 season. Clause 3 of the U.P. Sugarcane Supply and Purchase Order 1954 runs thus: 3. Purchase of cane in reserved areas.- (1) The occupier of a factory shall estimate or cause to be estimated by the 31st day of October or such later date in a crushing season as, on an application being made to the Cane Commissioner by the occupier of a factory, may be fixed by the Cane Commissioner, the quantity of cane with each grower enrolled in the Grower's Register and shall on demand submit the estimate to the Cane Commissioner and the Collector. (2) A cane-grower or a Cane-growers' Co-operative Society may within 14 days of the issue of an order reserving an area for a factory, offer in Form A of the Appendix, to supply cane grown in the reserved area, to the occupi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 9; Co-operative Society emanates after the expiry of the period mentioned in sub- cl.(2) it does not mean that the parties are prevented from entering into an agreement in the prescribed form and if they do enter into an agreement in the prescribed form, as was the case here, the sugarcane supplied thereunder would be 'bonded sugarcane'. It is not possible to accept the contention of learned counsel for the appellant that sugarcane supplied by the cane-growers or Canegrowers' Cooperative Society could be regarded as 'bonded Sugar Cane' only if offer of the Cane-grower or the Cane-Growers' Co operative Society emanates within the period prescribed by sub-cl.(2) and the same is accepted by the occupier within the period prescribed by sub-cl. (3). As stated earlier, the true effect of sub-cls. (2) and (3) read together is that the compulsion or obligation to accept the offer on the part of the occupier of the factory arises only when the offer is made by the cane-grower or Cane-growers' Co-operative Society within the time prescribed by sub-cl.(2) or the extended time under sub-cl.(4) but if the offer is made after the expiry of that period it is optional f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
