M/S. Kumaon Seeds Coprn. & Ors. vs Krishi Utpadan Mandi Samiti, Kashipur & Ors.

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.

:1:

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.

:2:

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.

:3:

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.

:4: