9911796707
TMI Blog1958 (12) TMI 50X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... es of bills of lading. Respondent 2 declined to register the petitioner on the ground that his application was defective inasmuch as the requisite certificate regarding his financial status had not been produced and no evidence had been given to show that he had exported the minimum quantity required (500 Cwts). The Petitioner was told that unless he complied with the requirements asked for within seven days his application would be rejected without further notice. The petitioner found that he could not comply with the directions issued by respondent 2 and so it became impossible for the petitioner to get registration and licence applied for by him. That is why he filed the present petition under Article 32 of the Constitution and prayed fo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Board may take with the object of developing the coir industry without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of sub-section (1). Amongst the measures thus enumerated, sub-section (2)(b) refers to the regulation under the supervision of the Central Government of the production of husks, coir yarn and coir products by registering coir spindles and looms for manufacturing coir products, as also manufacturers of coir products, licensing exporters of coir, coir yarn and coir products and taking such other appropriate steps as may be prescribed. Sub-section (2)(g) refers to the promotion of co-operative organisation among producers of husks, coir fibre and coir yarn and manufacturers of coir products, and sub-section (2)(i) refers to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nt of the rules exported not less than twenty-five tons of coir yarn or coir products other that coir rope, or exported any quantity of coir fibre or coir rope, may be registered an exporter of coir yarn, coir products other than coir rope or coir fibre or coir rope as the case may be. Rule 19 provides for the registration of persons other than those covered by rule 18 and it lays down inter alia that such persons may be registered as exporters of coir yarn if, during the period of twelve months immediately preceding the date of application, a minimum quantity of twenty-five tons of coir yarn had been rehanked or baled in a factory owned or otherwise possessed by the applicant and registered under the Indian Factories Act, 1948, or, if the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ner does not dispute this position and makes no grievance or complaint against the relevant provisions in the Act. 5. It is, however, urged that the relevant rules which prescribe the quantitative test for the registration of established exporters are ultra vires because the introduction of the said test is inconsistent with the provisions of the Act. In this connection Mr. Pai, for the petitioner, sought to rely on the report submitted by the Ad-Hoc Committee for external marketing which the Coir Board had appointed on August 20, 1954. His grievance is that the report of the said Committee does not recommend the adoption of the quantitative test, but seems to suggest that a qualitative test would be more appropriate; and that, according t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ct. In our opinion, no such infirmity has been established in respect of the impugned rules. 6 . It is then contended that the relevant rules would ultimately tend to establish a monopoly in the export trade of coir commodities and would thereby extinguish the trade or business of small dealers like the petitioner. It is also contended that the application of the quantitative test discriminates between persons carrying on business on a large scale and those who carry on business on a small scale. That is how Articles 19 and 14 of the Constitution are invoked and the validity of the relevant rules is challenged on the ground that they violate the fundamental rights of the petitioner under the said Articles. We think there is no substance in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ental right under Article 19(1)(g) and challenge the validity of the regulation or rule in question. In our opinion, therefore, the challenge to the validity of the rules on the ground of Article 19 must fail. 8 . The challenge to the validity of the said rules on the ground of Article 14 must also fail, because the classification of traders made by Rules 18 and 19 is clearly rational and is founded on an intelligible differentia distinguishing persons falling under one class from those falling under the other. It is also clear that the differentia has a rational relation to the object sought to be achieved by the Act. As we have already pointed out, the export trade in coir commodities disclosed the existence of many malpractices which no ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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