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Judgment
Ramanujam, J.—This appeal is directed against the judgment of Mohan, J. dismissing the Writ Petition No. 6631 of 1980. The Appellant herein is a partnership firm, which carries on the business of manufacturing gingerly oil. The Government of India introduced the Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marketing) Act 1937 with the object of providing for the grading and marketing of agricultural produce. The Appellant wanted to have the oil produced graded and to obtain the certificate under the said Act. The Appellant after making the necessary application, obtained a certificate authorizing the Appellant to grade the oil produced in the Mill and to affix the label of Agmark. Later the Appellant sought permission to have the oil produced by it graded in the laboratory called Bharath Analytical Laboratory, which has been approved by the Agricultural Marketing Adviser and which is in fact located within the premises of the oil mill of the Appellant. The Joint Agricultural Marketing Adviser advised the Petitioner to route the application through the State" Agricultural Marketing Department. On 30th June 1980, the State Agricultural Department rejected the application of the Appellant stating that the request for the change of grading from the State Laboratory to the Bharath Analytical Laboratory, could not be complied with. Aggrieved with such an order the Appellant herein filed Writ Petition No. 6631 of 1980. The said writ petition was however, dismissed by Mohan, J., by observing.
It is entirely for the State to insist upon the analytical test being conducted in its own laboratory. The Petitioner cannot say that merely because the State Laboratory is unable to cope up with the demand, the venue must be changed. In any event, so far as no statutory duty is cast for the change of the venue, I see no merit in this Writ petition, which is hereby dismissed.
The correctness of the said order of Mohan, J., has been canvassed in this writ appeal.
According to the learned Counsel for the Appellant the Appellant cannot be driven to go to the Government Analytical laboratory ignoring the Appellant''s request for having his oil graded in the Bharath Analytical Laboratory, which is situated within the premises of the Appellant''s oil mill. It is also pointed out by the learned Counsel for the Appellants that since the Government Analytical laboratories were not able to cope up with, various applications for grading, the department itself has encouraged the establishment of private analytical laboratories and has given the option to the manufactures of oil to go either to the private analytical laboratory or to go to the State analytical laboratory and in the face of such an option being given to the persons like the Appellant to choose the analytical laboratory of its choice the Respondents cannot compel the Appellant to have its oil graded by the State Laboratory alone. In support of the said plea, the learned Counsel, for the Appellant refers to paragraph 7 of the counter-affidavit filed by the third Respondent. In para graph 7 it is stated that:
the rules permit the packer to make use of his own laboratory or any other approved laboratory including laboratory set up by the State Government.
Thus the counter-affidavit proceeds on the basis that an option is given to the packer to use his own laboratory or any other approved laboratory including laboratory set up by the State Government. These statements made in the counter-affidavit have been sought to be explained by the learned Counsel for the third Respondent that so long as the packer has his own laboratory, he can use the same. But, if he has no laboratory of his own, then a discretion rests with the Agricultural Marketing Adviser to direct the grading through a particular laboratory. But having regard to the option given to the packer either to use his own laboratory or to use any other approved laboratory, the Appellant an not be compelled to go only to the State Analytical Laboratory. In this case, admittedly Bharath Analytical Laboratory is an approved one and is situated in the Appellant''s own premises and it is for this reason, the Appellant has sought the permission to have the oil graded in the said analytical laboratory. In the said circumstances, the question is whether the Appellant can be compelled to go to the State Analytical Laboratory. Admittedly in this case 14 other oil mills applied for detachment from the State Analytical Laboratory and for attaching them to private laboratories and those requests have been granted and they have been permitted by the authorities concerned to use private laboratories. But, it is only in the case of the Appellant, its request to have its oil graded in a private analytical laboratory has been refused and it has been compelled to go to the Government analytical laboratory. It is however, stated in the counter-affidavit that the 14 oil mills had been given the permission because at that time the Government Analytical laboratory could not cope up with the work and the workload in the State Gadding Laboratory, Erode was too much. However, the position has improved and the State Grading Laboratory, Erode is in a position to take up further work and therefore the permission sought for by the Appellant had been refused. Having regard to the statement made in paragraph 7 of the counter-affidavit that an option is given to the packer either to have his own laboratory or to use any other approved laboratory, we are of the view that the Appellant''s request to go to a private approved laboratory cannot be rejected unless the grading in the private analytical laboratory is not upto the mark. The fact that the Government Laboratory is in a position to take up further work does not mean that the grading should be done only in those laboratories by an oil manufacturer and it cannot be done in any other private approved analytical laboratory. In this view of the matter and so long as the 14 other oil mills have been permitted to have the grading done in the private analytical laboratories, the same facilities should also be given to the Appellant especially when there is a private approved analytical laboratory in his own oil mill premises.
In the result, we allow the writ appeal and direct the Respondents to permit the Appellant to have its oil graded in Bharath Private Analytical Laboratory. There will be no order as to costs.