M/S. Kumaon Seeds
Coprn. & Ors. Vs Krishi Utpadan Mandi Samiti, Kashipur & Ors.
O R D E R
Heard learned counsel
for the appearing parties. These Appeals have been filed against the impugned common
judgment of the High Court of Uttarachal (Now, the High Court of Uttarakhand)
dated 07.07.2005 passed in First Appeal No. 1072 of 2001 and First Appeal No.
1073 of 2001. The appellants claim to be dealing in certified seeds. Seeking to
impose market fee on those seeds under the Uttar Pradesh Krishi Utpadan Mandi Adhiniyam,
1964, the respondents issued show cause notices to the appellants. The appellants
filed civil suits challenging the said show cause notices and the matter went upto
the High Court which dismissed the suits by the impugned judgment. Civil Appeal
NO(s). 3630/2007 & 3631/2007 In our opinion, the High Court should not have
gone into the merits of the matter because it was only dealing with the
validity of the show cause notices in question and not deciding the matter on
merits.
However, it appears
that certain observations have been made even on the merits of the case by the
High Court in the impugned judgment, which, in our opinion, was not justified. After
the High Court upheld the validity of the show cause notices, the concerned
Market Committees should then have issued notices to the appellants fixing a
date, time and place for the hearing of the appellants in response to that show
cause notices, and in that hearing, the appellants should have been allowed to appear
either in-person or through their representatives and permitted to file their objections
and any other material which they wished to produce and only thereafter should the
matter have been decided, one way or the other, by the Market Committees concerned,
by a reasoned order after considering the response of the appellants as well as
the other material. It appears that the above procedure was not followed and, hence,
in our opinion, there was violation of the principles of natural justice Civil
Appeal NO(s). 3630/2007 & 3631/2007
After the impugned judgment
of the High Court, the concerned Market Committees never fixed any date, time
and place for the hearing of the appellants in response to the show cause notices
but straightaway it proceeded to issue notices dated 27.07.2005 directing the
appellants to pay the market fee on certified seeds which, in our opinion, was
not justified. Hence, we set aside the notices dated 27.07.2005 but we permit
the Market Committees concerned to issue fresh notices to the appellants fixing
therein the date, time and place for the hearing of the appellants to the show
cause notices, and on that date the appellants can file their response and also
produce any other material which they wish to produce and only thereafter the Market
Committees concerned can proceed to decide the matter by a reasoned order uninfluenced
by any observations made by the High Court in the impugned judgment.
We make it clear that
we are not making any comment on the merits of the controversy. We leave it open
to the concerned authorities to decide the matter after hearing the appellants
as directed above. Civil Appeal NO(s). 3630/2007 & 3631/2007 The Appeals
are disposed of accordingly. No costs.
........................J.
(MARKANDEY KATJU)
........................J.
(GYAN SUDHA MISRA)
NEW
DELHI;
MARCH
03, 2011.
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