A. D. DESAI, T. U. MEHTA, J. ( 1 ) THE petitioners herein have by this petition challenged the vires of the rules 48 and 54 of the Gujarat Agricultural Produce Markets Rules 1965 thereinafter referred to as the Rules) framed by the State Government under sec. 59 of the Gujarat Agricultural Produce Markets Act 1963 (hereinafter referred to as the Act ). ( 2 ) THE petitioners are dealing in agricultural produce at Dohad district Panchmahals and are holding A class licence granted by the respondent No. 1 the Agriculture Produce Market Committee at Dohad established under sec. 9 of the Act and which is hereinafter referred to as the Committee. ( 3 ) THE case of the petitioners is that they are interested in the business of buying and selling of agricultural produce on a large scale and hence they have to purchase goods from the places situated either outside the market area established for the purpose of the Act or from outside the State of Gujarat. After purchasing goods in this manner they sell those goods either to the persons who are carrying on business within the market area or to the persons who carry on business outside the market area. According to the petitioners the provisions of the Act and the Rules do not apply to the following categories of transactions entered into by them:-1 The transactions wherein the first petitioner acting as an agent of merchants who carry on their business outside the market area of the respondent-committee or outside the State of Gujarat sells the goods within the market area for or on behalf of those persons. 2 The transactions wherein the first petitioner and other such merchants who act as agent of other merchants who are residing outside the market area of the respondent-committee directly transfer the built to other merchants so as to enable them to procure the agricultural produce purchased by the petitioners from outside Dohad market area. 3 The transactions in which the sales and purchases are effected between a merchant and a merchant within Dohad market area because according to the petitioners the object of the Act is merely to regulate the first sales of agricultural produce by agriculturists to the merchants and not the subsequent sales of the said agricultural produce between a merchant and a merchant. ( 4 ) THE petitioners have also challenged the power of the respondents Committee to levy market fees in case of transaction of sales and purchases between merchants and merchants in the market area. ( 5 ) ACCORDING to the petitioners rule 48 of the Rules which authorises the respondent committee to levy market fees and rule 54 which prohibits the sale and purchase of agricultural produce beyond the market yard are ultra wires the Act as well as the provisions contained in Art. 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution. ( 6 ) CRIMINAL Revision Applications Nos. 347 and 348 of 1972 also raise many points which are common with those raised in this writ petition and hence Shri Vin the learned advocate of the petitioners in those revision applications was allowed to intervene during the course of the hearing of this writ petition and was heard on the common points. ( 7 ) THOUGH In the petition and during the course of the arguments the petitioners have raised many points some of which were over-lapping only the following points have been pressed and they do survive for our consideration in this petition:-1 Whether the Act and the Rules apply only to the sale and purchase of agricultural produce which is grown and produced in the market area notified under sec. 6 of the Act. 2 Whether the Act and the Rules apply only to those transactions of Sale and purchase which are between agriculturists and traders and do not apply to those which are between traders and traders. In this connection Shri Oza had also contended that agricultural product becomes a commercial commodity when the it changes hands and therefore the provisions of the Act and the Rules do not apply when these products are bought or sold as between a trader and a trader. 3 Whether the Act and the Rules do not apply to the transactions of sales and purchases between a trader carrying on business within the market area and a person residing outside the said market area. 4 If Rules 48 and 54 apply to the transactions between traders and trades as well as to the transaction between traders doing business within the market area and those doing business outside that area whether these rules are ultra vires either the Act or Art. 19 of the Constitution. 4 If Rules 48 and 54 apply to the transactions between traders and trades as well as to the transaction between traders doing business within the market area and those doing business outside that area whether these rules are ultra vires either the Act or Art. 19 of the Constitution. 5 Whether the market fee can be levied on subsequent transactions if once levied in the same yard on the original transactions of sales or purchases. 6 Whether bye-law No. 52 which fixes working hours in the market yards is ultra vires the Art. 19 of the Constitution. ( 8 ) AT this stage it should be mentioned that Shri Zaveri who appeared on behalf of the respondent-Committee raised a preliminary objection against this writ petition by contending that the allegations contained in the said writ petition are of general nature all do not pinpoint any action of the Committee which can be construed as having given the cause of action to the petitioners to file this writ petition. We shall first deal with this preliminary objection of Shri Zaveri. ( 9 ) IT is true that paragraphs 1 to 7 of the petition are containing the allegations of general nature. But if a reference is made to para 8 of the petition it is found that it refers specifically to a criminal complaint which has been filed against the petitioners for breach of some of the Rules and by-laws of the respondent-Committee. After referring to the facts relating to this criminal complaint the petitioners have further stated that the respondent--Committee is bent on enforcing the provisions of law with regard to the several points raised in the petition and is also proposing to take further actions in form of further complaints against the petitioners. The petitioners have further averred that since the respondent Committee has no authority to regulate the business of the petitioners and since further prosecutions are contemplated by the respondent-Committee for breach of the impugned provisions of law this writ petition is found necessary. On a reference to the affidavit-in-reply filed on behalf of the respondent-committee we find that therein the respondent-committee has taken up a plea that in all the transactions which are mentioned above the impugned rules 48 and 54 apply and therefore they are in law bound to implement the provisions of these rules if the petitioners are found to be disobeying them. Looking to these pleadings it cannot be said that the general averments which are contained in paras 1 to 7 of the petition are required to be decided merely on academic grounds. We find that in view of the averments made by the petitioners in para 8 of the petition and also in view of the affidavit-in-reply produced on behalf of the respondent-committee the petitioners are in eminent danger of being prosecuted and if that is so it would be open to the petitioners to come before this court to get a proper redress by filing a suitable writ petition. Under these circumstances we see no substance in this preliminary objection raised by Shri Zaveri against this petition. ( 10 ) NOW dealing with the points at issue which are mentioned above it would first be necessary to refer to the relevant provisions of law. The long title of the Act is as under:- An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the regulation of buying and selling of agricultural produce and the establishment of markets for agricultural produce in the State of Gujarat. This long title suggests that the Act was enacted mainly for two purposes namely (1) regulation of buying and selling of agricultural produce and (2) the establishment of markets for agricultural produce. This Act replaces the prior Act which was Bombay Agricultural Produce Markets Act 1939 Reference to the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the said Bombay Act of 1939 shows that Act was placed on the statute book with the following objectives in mind:-THE Indian Cotton Committee which reported in 1919 came to the conclusion that the cultivator is heavily handicapped in securing an adequate price for this produce and that one of the most satisfactory ways in which this can be removed is the establishment of regulated markets it is now proposed to provide for better regulation of buying and selling of all agricultural produce including cotton and the establishment of regulated markets for that purpose in this province. . . . . . AGRICULTURAL produce has been defined in the Bill to include the produce of horticulture and animal husbandry and power is taken to regulate the buying and selling of any agricultural produce not mentioned in Schedule by notification in the Bombay Government Gazette. . . . . . AGRICULTURAL produce has been defined in the Bill to include the produce of horticulture and animal husbandry and power is taken to regulate the buying and selling of any agricultural produce not mentioned in Schedule by notification in the Bombay Government Gazette. POWER is taken to exercise control over the purchase and sale of agricultural produce in specified areas. This control will be exercised by the market committees constituted under the Act. These committees are made bodies corporate and are given power to levy fees and to form a market committee fund to be used for the purposes defined in the Bill. All trade allowances except those that may be prescribed by rules or bye-laws of the market committee are prohibited. . . . This Statement of Objects and Reasons which inspired the Legislature to put the Bombay Act of 1939 on the statute book shows that the object of the Act was not merely to protect cultivators who desire to put their agricultural produce in the market for sale but also to provide for better regulation of buying and selling of all agricultural produce. ( 11 ) INITIALLY when the Act (Gujarat Act No. XX of 1964) was enacted the Rules framed under the Bombay Act of 1939 continued till the present Rules were framed on 2-9-65 for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of the Act as contemplated by sec. S9 of the Act. Sec. 60 of the Act provides for the framing of bye-laws. While the Rules are to be framed by the State Government the bye-laws are to be framed by the market committee for regulation of business and the conditions of trading in the market area and for any other markets as may be prescribed. ( 12 ) SO far as the Act is concerned it would be necessary to refer to some of its Provisions which are found relevant to the petition. Sec. 2 of the Act gives certain statutory definitions Cl. I (i) thereof defines agricultural produce as meaning all produce whether processed or not of agriculture horticulture and animal husbandry specified in the Schedule Cl. (xii) and (xiii) define the words market and market area. Cl. (xiv) defines market committee while cl. (xvii) and (xxi) define the words principal market yard and sub-market-yard. I (i) thereof defines agricultural produce as meaning all produce whether processed or not of agriculture horticulture and animal husbandry specified in the Schedule Cl. (xii) and (xiii) define the words market and market area. Cl. (xiv) defines market committee while cl. (xvii) and (xxi) define the words principal market yard and sub-market-yard. These definitions have nothing special therein because they refer to the relevant sections under which they are declared as much. Cl. (xxiii) defines the word trader as meaning a person who carries on business of buying or selling of agricultural produce or of processing of agricultural produce for sale. ( 13 ) CHAPTER III of the Act is with reference to declaration of market area constitution of markets and establishment of market committees. It is sec. 6 of this Chapter which provides for the declaration of market area. Sub-sec. (2) of this section is material for the purpose of this petition. It provides as under:- (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force from the date on which any area is declared to be a market area under sub-sec. (1) no place in the said area shall be used for the purchase or sale of any agricultural produce specified in the notification except in accordance with the provision of the Actthere is a proviso attached to this sub-section with which we are not concerned in this petition and is therefore not quoted here. ( 14 ) SEC. 7 prescribes for the constitution of a principal market yards special market yards and markets proper. The Director is authorised under the Act to notify all these areas. Sec. 7 provides that when a principal market yard or sub-market yard is notified the Director is also expected to notify simultaneously some further area which is cannot market proper. So the area which is declared as principal market yard or sub-market yard together with the area which is declared as market proper constitutes what is known as market under the Act. Market area which is declared under sec. 6 is larger than the area covered by market. It is this evident that market area is the largest area within the jurisdiction of the market committee but the area which is covered by the market Is a smaller area compared to the market area. Principal market yard or sub-market yard are covering still smaller area. 6 is larger than the area covered by market. It is this evident that market area is the largest area within the jurisdiction of the market committee but the area which is covered by the market Is a smaller area compared to the market area. Principal market yard or sub-market yard are covering still smaller area. Market proper which is simultaneously declared along with the market yard or sub-market yard is an area which is attached to the market yard or sub-market yard but that also falls within the area covered by "market. " ( 15 ) PROCEEDING further with the scheme of the Act we find that sec. 8 provides that no person shall operate in the market area or any part thereof except under and in accordance with the conditions of a licence granted under this Act. Sec. 9 which follows it provides for the establishment of market committee. ( 16 ) SEC. 23 of the Act which is placed in Chapter IV provides that a market committee shall exercise the powers and perform the functions and duties conferred or Imposed upon it by the Act and the Rules. Sec 26 prescribes the duties of the market committee as under:- ( 17 ) IT shall be the duty of every market committee to maintain and manage the market to take all possible stops to prevent adulteration and to promote grading and standardization of the agricultural produce as may be prescribed to provide such facilities in the market as the Director may from time to time direct and to enforce in the market area the provisions of this Act the rules bye-law and the conditions of licences granted under the Act in connection with the purchase and sale of the agricultural produce with which it is concerned It shall also be the duty of every market committee to collect and maintain such information relating to market intelligence as may be prescribed and to supply the same to Government whenever so required Next section which should be referred to is sec. 28 which is very relevant so far as this petition is concerned. This section in terms states as under:- .