Gujarat High Court
Khimji vs State on 3 May, 2011
Author: Chief Justice
Bench: S.J. Mukhopadhaya
Gujarat High Court Case Information System
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LPA/669/2011 12/ 12 JUDGMENT
IN
THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
LETTERS
PATENT APPEAL No. 669 of 2011
In
SPECIAL
CIVIL APPLICATION No. 4774 of 1997
For
Approval and Signature:
HONOURABLE
THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. S.J. MUKHOPADHAYA
HONOURABLE
MR.JUSTICE J.B.PARDIWALA
=========================================================
1
Whether
Reporters of Local Papers may be allowed to see the judgment ?
2
To be
referred to the Reporter or not ?
3
Whether
their Lordships wish to see the fair copy of the judgment ?
4
Whether
this case involves a substantial question of law as to the
interpretation of the constitution of India, 1950 or any order
made thereunder ?
5
Whether
it is to be circulated to the civil judge ?
=========================================================
KHIMJI
JAMNADAS OIL CAKE INDUSTRIES - Appellant(s)
Versus
STATE
OF GUJARAT & 1 - Respondent(s)
=========================================================
Appearance
:
MR
ASHISH H SHAH for
Appellant(s) : 1,
None for Respondent(s) : 1 -
2.
=========================================================
CORAM
:
HONOURABLE
THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. S.J. MUKHOPADHAYA
and
HONOURABLE
MR.JUSTICE J.B.PARDIWALA
Date
: 03/05/2011
CAV
JUDGMENT
(Per : HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE J.B.PARDIWALA) The appellant - original writ petitioner has preferred this Appeal under clause 15 of the Letters Patent challenging the judgment and order dated 24th November 2008 passed by the learned Single Judge in Special Civil Application No.4774/1997, whereby the learned Single Judge dismissed the writ petition.
Facts relevant for the purpose of deciding the present Appeal can be summarised as under:
The appellant-original writ petitioner is in the business of edible and non-edible oils. It is his case that he has been issued licence by the State Government under the Gujarat Essential Articles (Licensing, Control and Stock Declaration) Order, 1981 (for short, 'the Order of 1981).
The business unit of the appellant was suddenly inspected on 17th June 1997 by officers of Food and Civil Supplies, Junagadh. On inspection of the said unit, it was found that the appellant was in possession of essential articles in the form of raw oil. The entire consignment was seized under the seizure order dated 17th June 1997. The details are as under:
Sr. No. Particulars Quantity Value (Rs.)
1.
Ground nut solvent oil 17010 3,74,220/-
2. Rapeseed solvent oil 10180 2,64,680/-
3. Partly processed ground nut 115575 8,55,255/-
4. Partly processed rapeseed 320775 14,43,487/-
Total Value Rupees 29,37,642/-
It appears that thereafter show-cause notice was issued against the appellant - original writ petitioner calling upon the appellant to show-cause as to why the entire consignment of oil should not be confiscated under the provisions of the Order of 1981.
The District Supply Officer, Junagadh, vide order dated 15th July 1997, ordered confiscation of the entire stock of oil which was seized from the business unit of the appellant. The order passed by the District Supply Officer was challenged before the Collector, Junagadh. The Collector, vide order dated 17th October 1998, ordered 50% confiscation of the consignment of oil cake. It deserves to be noted that the Collector, however, released the entire consignment of oil cake.
Aggrieved by the said order passed by the Collector, ordering 50% confiscation of the oil cake, the appellant preferred Special Civil Application No.4774/1997. The said petition was heard and dismissed by the learned Single Judge.
It appears that the principal contention of the appellant - original writ petitioner before the learned Single Judge was to the effect that the Collector committed grave error in passing the order of confiscation because the seized oil was not edible and, therefore, not covered under the provisions of the Order of 1981, since it is not one of the essential items declared under the Order of 1981. It also appears that the appellant relied on the report of the Public Analyst indicating that the sample is of raw solvent extracted ground-nut oil and that it cannot be used for human consumption. It was also submitted before the learned Single Judge that the appellant - original writ petitioner was detained preventively under the provisions of Black Marketing Act and on the same contention canvassed before the learned Single Judge, the order of detention was quashed.
The learned Single Judge took the view that there was sufficient evidence before the authorities to hold that the seized quantity comprised of raw oil in the process of being made in the humanly consumable edible oil. The learned Single Judge took the view that the authorities below were justified in coming to the conclusion that the seized oil would be included in the entry "edible oil" and on this reasoning, thought fit to dismiss the petition.
We are of the view that the learned Single Judge, in taking the view as reflected from the judgment and order, has not committed any error and we are in complete agreement with the reasonings assigned by the learned Single Judge. However, in the present case, as the issue relates to essential commodities, we would like to give our independent finding in this regard which would further fortify the view taken by the learned Single Judge, which we are confirming.
We have heard learned counsel Mr.Ashish H.Desai appearing for the appellant and the learned AGP Mrs.Manisha L.Shah for the State.
In this Appeal before us also the same contentions have been reiterated, namely, that the commodity seized as per the seizure order dated 17th June 1997 was raw solvent oil and the same was admittedly not edible. It was also submitted further that the commodity seized was not the essential article within the meaning of clause 2(8) of the Order of 1981. It was also submitted that as per the provisions of Section 2(a)(v) of the Essential Commodities Act, "edible oil" is the sub-category of "food stuffs" and, therefore, "edible oil" should fall within the general category of "food stuffs" and by no stretch of imagination "raw solvent extracted oil" can be included in the general category of "food stuffs".
We have considered the contentions raised on behalf of the appellant - original writ petitioner and we are of the opinion that there is no merit in any of the contentions.
For better adjudication of the issue, it would be expedient to look into certain provisions of the Gujarat Essential Articles (Licensing, Control and Stock Declaration) Order, 1981. Section 2(8) defines "essential articles", which means "an article specified in the Schedule-I". Schedule-I appended to the Order of 1981 is as under:
Food stuffs A. Foodgrains including products thereof.
xxx xxx Paddy Rice xxx xxx Wheat B. Pulses including dal whether whole or split with or without husk.
Tur Moong Arhar Masoor Lobia Rajmaha Gram including peas Urad Any other dal whether whole or split with or without husk.
C. Edible Oilseeds.
Groundnut shelled or unshelled Til Mustard Rapeseed Soyabean Imported edible oilseeds Kharsani seeds D. Edible Oils.
Groundnut oil (including solvent extracted).
Til oil, Mustard oil, Rapeseed oil, Cottonseed oil, Soyabean oil, Sun-flower oil.
Hydrogenated vegetable oil.
"Imported edible oils" means (a) Palmolein (b) Palmoil (c) Soyabean oil
(d) Sun-flower oil, or (e) any other edible oil containing any of the aforesaid oils.
Kharsani Oil E. Sugar-Khandsari.
We are concerned with clauses (C) and (D) of "food stuffs"
of Schedule-I, so far as the present Appeal is concerned. It is evident from Schedule-I appended to the Order of 1981 that "edible oilseeds" and "edible oils" fall within the ambit of "food stuffs". The word "edible", according to Webster's Dictionary, in its adjectival sense, means "fit to be eaten as food; eatable, esculent". According to Chambers' 20th Century Dictionary "edible"
in its adjectival sense means "fit to be eaten". Similarly, according to the shorter Oxford Dictionary the word "edible" in its adjectival sense means "eatable, fit to be eaten". The contention of the learned counsel for the appellant that the oil which was seized was not "edible oil"
and was "raw oil" and, therefore, not covered under the provisions of the Order of 1981 since it is not one of the essential items declared under the Order of 1981, deserves to be rejected on two good grounds. It is well known rule of interpretation that associated words take care of their meaning from one another and that is the meaning of the rule of statutory construction, noscitur a sociis. A word in a statutory provision is to be read in collocation with its companion word. The pristine principle based on the maxim noscitur a sociis (meaning of a word should be known from its accompanying or associating words) has much relevance in understanding the import of words in a statutory provision. When "foodstuffs" are associated with edible oil-seeds which have to be processed before the oil in them can be consumed, it is appropriate to interpret "foodstuffs" in the wider sense as including all articles of food which may be consumed by human beings after processing.
In taking this view, we are fortified by a Supreme Court's decision in the matter of K.Janardhan Pillai and another v/s. Union of India and others, reported in (1981)2 SCC 45. In this case, before the Supreme Court, the challenge related to the validity of the declaration made by the State Government of Kerala on 20th March 1976 declaring that raw cashew-nut was an essential article, in exercise of the power under clause(a) of Section 2 of the Kerala Essential Articles Control (Temporary Powers) Act, 1961 (Kerala Act 3 of 1962) and other Orders. In the said case, the contention before the Supreme Court was that since the Order regulates only procurement and distribution of raw cashewnut as industrial raw material for processing in the factories, it is not being dealt with as foodstuff. Rejecting this contention, the Supreme Court observed in paragraph 14 of the judgment as under:
"It is not disputed by the State Government that if raw cashewnut is foodstuff within the meaning of the Central Act, it cannot be declared as an essential article under the Kerala Act. What is, however, urged is that since the Order regulates only procurement and distribution of raw cashewnut as industrial raw material for processing in the factories, it is not being dealt with as foodstuff. Hence it should not be treated as an essential commodity under the Central Act. There are at least two good reasons to reject this contention advanced on behalf of the State Government - first, the language used in Section 2(a)(v) of the Central Act and secondly the purpose of the Central Act. Section 2(a)(v) of the Central Act reads: "foodstuffs, including edible oil-seeds and oils". It is a well known rule of interpretation that associated words take their meaning from one another and that is the meaning of the rule of statutory construction, noscitur a sociis. When 'foodstuffs' are associated with edible oil-seeds which have to be processed before the oil in them can be consumed, it is appropriate to interpret 'foodstuffs' in the wider sense as including all articles of food which may be consumed by human beings after processing. It is in this wider sense that the said term has been understood by Indian Courts as can be seen from some of the decisions to which we shall presently refer. Secondly, having regard to the history of legislation relating to foodstuffs dealt with above and the object of the Central Act which regulates the production, supply and distribution of essential commodities amongst the poverty-stricken Indian people, the expression 'foodstuffs' should be given a wider meaning as including even raw materials which ultimately result in edible articles. Any interpretation that may be given in this case should not be governed by its consequence on the impugned Order but in the light of the importance of the Central Act in the context of the national economy. A narrow interpretation may result in the exclusion of several articles from the purview of the Central Act although nobody has entertained any doubt so far about their being essential commodities."
In this view of the matter, we are of the opinion that no error much less an error of law can be said to have been committed by the learned Single Judge in dismissing the writ petition of the appellant and, therefore, the Appeal fails and it deserves to be dismissed.
The Appeal stands dismissed. No order as to cost.
(S.J.Mukhopadhaya, CJ.) (J.B.Pardiwala, J.) /moin Top