M/s. Shree Vishnu Bhandar vs The State of Bihar and Others

Hari Lal Agrawal and S.S. Hasan, JJ.—The petitioner, a dealer in fertilisers has filed this application against the order dated 1.11.1977 (Annexure 6) passed by respondent No. 3 whereby the petitioner was asked to take out a separate licence for retail sales and wholesales dealing in the commodity in question. It is contended that in the scheme of the Fertiliser (Control) Order, 1957, there is no provision for a separate licence of a retail dealer or wholesale dealer. Rather the control order speaks of registration of the dealer by the registering authority. Clause 5 of the order aforesaid provides that "no person shall carry on the business of selling fertilisers at any place except under and in accordance with the terms and conditions of a certificate of registration granted to him under this Order." The definition of dealer'' unlike other control orders, does not make a classification of ''wholesale'' or ''retail''. According to the definition of this expression in the control order, ''dealer'' means a person carrying on the business of selling fertilisers in wholesale or retail, including his agent. The very definition of this expression includes a wholesale as well as retail deafer and once a certificate is issued to the dealer then obviously he is entitled to carry on wholesale as well as retail business in fertilisers. The direction as contained in Annexure 6, therefore, is unjustified and unwarranted, not born out from the provisions referred to above. We would, accordingly, allow this application and quash the order dated 1.11.1977 as contained in Annexure 6 to this application, directing the petitioner to take out separate licence for wholesale and retail dealer.