ns Nos 295 362 365 443 and 444 of 1968
Petitions under article 32 of the Constitution of India for the enforcement of the fundamental rights
H R Gokhale and Naunit Lal for the petitioners in W P No 295 of 1968
H R Gokhale Jagjit Singh Chawla section K Mehta and K L Mehta for the petitioner in WP No 362 of 1968
R K P Shankar Dass Bishambar Lal and H K Puri for the petitioners in WP No 365 of 1968
450 Jagjit Singh Chawla section K Mehta and K L Mehta for the petitioners in WP Nos 443 and 444 of 1968
Niren De Attorney General V C Mahajan and R N Sach they for the respondents in WP Nos 295 and 362 of 1968
V C Mahajan and R N Sachthey for the respondents in WP No 365 of 1968
R N Sachthey for the respondents in WP Nos 443 and 444 of 1968
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by Shah J
Cattle fairs are held for the last many decades in different parts of the territory of the State of Punjab by local authorities and individual owners of land
The person or authority holding
the cattle fair provides facilities to cattle owners for board and lodging and for stabling their cattle generally in consideration of charges including a percentage on the price realised by sale or purchase of cattle
The Governor of Punjab with a view to control and regulate cattle fairs promulgated Ordinance No 14 of 1967 on November 4 1967 declaring a monopoly in the State of Punjab to hold cattle fairs and prohibiting all local authorities and individuals from holding cattle fairs at any place in the State
This Ordinance was replaced by the Punjab Cattle Fairs Regulation Act 6 of 1968
By section 3 of the Act it is provided  1 The right to hold a cattle fair at any place in the State of Punjab and to control manage and regulate such fair shall vest exclusively in the State Government and shall be exercisable by it in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder through such persons or authorities as it may deem fit
2 Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force and save as provided by sub section 1 it shall be unlawful for any person or local authority to hold control manage or regulate a cattle fair at any place in the State of Punjab
 The expression Cattle is defined by section 2b as including a buffalo camel cow donkey elephant goat horse mule sheep and their young ones and such other animals as the State Government may by notification specify
By section 41 authority is vested in the State Government to appoint Fair Officers for holding controlling managing and regulating tattle fairs in a district
By sub section
2 the Fair Officer is made responsible for making arrangements in respect of all matters connected with the holding of a cattle fair and its proper control management and regulation 451 and has also the power of i defining the fair area ii reservation of sites or places for latrines urinals baths shops exhibitions shows demonstrations foot baths for animals water supply for drinking purposes shelters green and dry fodder entertainment and similar other purposes necessary in connection with the cattle fair iii allotment of sites temporarily for commercial or other purposes in connection with the cattle fair authorisation of raising of structures on such sites and fixation of rents for such sites in the prescribed manner iv arrangements for watch and ward lighting medical first aid veterinary aid sanitation tentage and other facilities as may be necessary in connection with the cattle fair and v construction of temporary offices for the purpose of collecting taxes and fees imposed and levied in connection with the cattle fair
The expression fair area is defined in section 2 d as meaning such area within a district as may be specified by a fair officer for the purpose of holding a cattle fair
By section 5 power is conferred upon the State Government to impose in a fair area during the continuance of a cattle fair tolls on vehicles entering such area for business purposes and octroi duty on goods brought for sale within such area
Jurisdiction of the local authorities to levy taxes and fees in any fair area in connection with the fair is excluded by section 6
By section 8 it is provided that no person shall sell cattle at a cattle fair unless the has obtained a registration certificate in respect of cattle to be sold
Section 9 provides for licensing of brokers
By section 15 the State Government is authorised to direct the Panchayat Samiti or Municipal Committee in whose jurisdiction the fair is to be held to deposit in the Cattle Fair Fund the prescribed amount not exceeding one thousand rupees to cover the initial expenses of the fair and the local authority so directed is enjoined to comply with the direction
Section 16 provides for the setting up of a Cattle Fair Fund in which all fees rent or other sums of money not being tolls and taxes received or realized under the provisions of the Act or the rules made thereunder and all donations or grants made to the Fund by the State Government a local authority or any other person are to be credited
By section 18 penalties are prescribed for contravention of the provisions of sub section
2 of section 3
Power is conferred by section 21 to make regulations to provide against the outbreak or spread of fire and for certain other matters
By section 22 the State Government is authorised to make rules for carrying out the Purposes of the Act
The Act however as originally enacted contained no definition of the expression cattle fair
Validity of the Punjab Cattle Fairs Regulation Act 1967 was challenged in a group of petitions moved before the High Court of Punjab by persons interested in holding cattle fairs Mohinder Singh Sawhney vs State of Punjab and Others1 Before the High Court one of the contentions raised by the 1 AIR 1968 Punjab 391
452 petitioners was that the provisions of the Act were Vague and ambiguous and on that account the Act
was ultra vires
The Court accepted that contention
The Court observed that there was a distinction between a cattle market and a cattle fair  and since no definition of cattle fair was supplied by the Act it was left to the executive authorities to determine what a cattle fair was and on that account the infirmity went to the root of the matter and the Act was liable to be struck down in its entirely on the ground of vagueness even if some of its provisions were unexceptionable in themselves
The State Legislature then enacted the Punjab Cattle Fairs Regulation Amendment Act 18 of 1968 which introduced by section 2bb a definition of the expression cattle fair as me a gathering of more than twenty five persons for the purpose of general sale or purchase of cattle
Fair Officers were appointed by the State Government and they issued notifications
declaring certain areas as fair areas
A number of petitions were again moved in the High Court of Punjab for an order declaring invalid the Art as amended
The High Court of Punjab dismissed the petitions upholding the validity of the Act Kehar Singh vs The State of Punjab  Another1
The Court in that case held that the definition of cattle fair was not intended to bring within its compass sales by private individuals outside fair areas it was intended only to apply where in general people assemble at some place for the purpose of buying and selling cattle and the number of persons exceeds twenty five and that Act 6
of 1968 as amended by Act 18 of 1968 does not contravene the provisions of articles 191f  g of the Constitution
Certain persons interested in conducting cattle fairs have filed writ petitions in this Court
Arguments which are common in all the petitions may first be considered
We are unable to accept the argument that since the High Court of Punjab by their judgment in Mohinder Singh Sawhney s case 2  struck down the Act Act 6 of 1968 had ceased to have any existence in law and that in any event assuming that the judgment of the Punjab High Court in Mohinder Singh Sawhney section case 2  did not make the Act non existent as between the parties in whose favour the order was passed in the earlier writ petitions the order operated as res judicata and on that account the Act could not be enforced without re enactment
The High Court of Punjab in Mohinder Singh Sawhney s case2 1 2 AIR 1968 Punjab 391 453  in our opinion the petitions must succeed on the ground that the legislation is vague uncertain and ambiguous and also at p 394 that    as the infirmity of vagueness goes to the root of the matter legislative enactment has to be struck down as a whole even if some of its provisions are un exceptionable in themselves
 But the rule that an Act of a competent legislature may be struck down by the Courts on the ground of vagueness is alien to our Constitutional system
The Legislature of the State of Punjab was competent to enact legislation in respect of fairs vide entry 28 of List 11 of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution
A law may be declared invalid by the superior Courts in India if the legislature has no power to enact the law or that the law violates any of the fundamental rights guaranteed in Part III of the Constitution or is inconsistent with any constitutional provision but not on the ground that it is vague
It is true that in Claude C Connally vs General Construction Company1 it was held by the Supreme Court of the United States of America that A statute which either forbids or requires the doing of an act in terms so vague that men of common intelligence must necessarily guess at its meaning and differ as to its application violates the first essential of due process of law But the rule enunciated by the American Courts has no application under our Constitutional set up
The rule is regarded as an essential of the due process clauses incorporated in the American Constitution by the 5th  the 14th Amendments
The Courts in India have no authority to declare a statute invalid on the ground that it violates the due process of law
Under our Constitution the test of due process of law cannot be applied to statutes enacted by the Parliament or the State legislatures
This Court has definitely ruled that the doctrine of due process of law has no place in our Constitutional system A K Gopaian vs The State of Madras2
Kania CJ observed at p 120
There is considerable authority for the statement that the Courts are not at liberty to declare an Act void because in their opinion it is opposed to a spirit supposed to pervade the Constitution but not expressed in words 
it is only in express constitutional provisions limiting legislative power and controlling the temporary will of a majority by a permanent and paramount law settled by the deliberate wisdom of the nation that one 1 70 L Edn 322
2  454 can find a safe and solid ground for the authority of Courts of Justice to declare void any legislative enactment
 The order made by the High Court in Mohinder Singh Sawhney s case1 striking down the Act was passed on the assumption that the validity of the Act was liable to be adjudged by the test of due process of law
The Court was plainly in error in so assuming
We are also unable to hold that the previous decision operates as res judicata even in favour of the petitioners in whose petitions an order was made by the High Court in the first group of petitions
The effect of that decision was only that the Act was in law non existent so long as there was no definition of the expression cattle fair in the Act
That defect has been remedied by the Punjab Act 18 of 1968
We may hasten to observe that we are unable to agree that the Act as originally enacted was unenforceable even on the  ground of vagueness
It is true that the expression cattle fair was not defined in the Act
The Legislature when it did not furnish the definition of the expression cattle fair must be deemed to have used the expression in its ordinary signification as meaning a periodical concourse of buyers and sellers in a place generally for sale and purchase of cattle at times or on occasions ordained by custom
We agree with the High Court that by enacting the Act the State was not attempting to prevent all transactions for sale and purchase of cattle
The State took upon itself by the Act a monopoly of conducting fairs but it did not thereby seek to monopolise all transactions of sale and purchase in cattle
This is now made clear the definition of cattle fair in section 2bb
A law which vests in the State a monopoly to carry on a certain trade or business to the extent that it has direct relation to the creation of the monopoly is not open to challenge on the ground of violation of the freedom guaranteed by article 191 g
As pointed out by this Court in Akadasi Padhan V State of Orissa 2 at p 707 A law relating to  a State Monopoly Cannot in the context of article 19  1  g  include all the provisions contained in the said law whether they have direct relation with the creation of the monopoly or not
expression should be construed to mean the law relating to the monopoly in its absolutely essential features
If a law is passed creating a State monopoly the Court should enquire what are the provisions of the said law which are basically and essentially necessary for creating the 1 Al
R 1968 Punjab 391 2 1963 Supp
2 SCR 691
455 State monopoly
It is only those essential and basic provisions which are protected by the latter part of article 196
If there are other provisions made by the Act which are subsidiary incidental or helpful to the operation of the monopoly they do not fall under the said part and their validity must be judged under
the first part of article 196
In other words the effect of the amendment made in article 196 is to protect the law relating to the creation of monopoly and that means that it is only the provisions of the law which are integrally and essentially connected with the creation of the monopoly that are protected
The rest of the provisions which may be incidental do not fall under the latter part of article 196 and would inevitably have to satisfy the test of the first part of article 196
 The provisions of the Act which seek to monopolise for the State the right to carry on cattle fairs are protected against the challenge that they put an unreasonable restriction upon persons carrying on the occupation of holding cattle fairs
What is implicit in the grant of a monopoly to the State is expressly enacted in section 32 that no other person or authority may conduct a cattle fair at any place in the State of Punjab
But the restriction operates only in respect of cattle fairs and not other trades or occupations relating to dealings in cattle
The Act is restricted in its scope the prohibition imposed upon all persons and authorities restraining them from holding controlling managing and regulating cattle fairs at any place in the State of Punjab extend only to cattle fairs strictly so called and not to cattle markets
The be monopoly declared by the Act does not invest the State with the monopoly to conduct cattle markets ie places where the business of sale or purchase is regularly conducted by private parties and not as a fair
Any attempt made by the Officers of the State claiming to exercise authority under the Act to prohibit cattle markets is without authority of law
The Act also does not invest the State with authority to de clare private property of an individual or of a local authority a fair area
Section 42
enables the Fair Officer to define a fair area to reserve sites or places for certain facilities to make temporary allotment for commercial and other purposes and to arrange for watch and ward and for construction of temporary offices
The Cattle Fair Officer is not thereby authorised to hold fairs on lands not belonging to the State
In defining a fair area and in making reservation allotment construction and arrangements of the nature mentioned in cls
i to v of sub section
2 of section 4 the Cattle Fair Officer cannot trespass upon private property
It is implicit in the provisions of the Act that the State will hold cattle fairs on its own lands and not on private lands
456 The words used in section 4 are wide and may be capable of the interpretation that the right to hold control manage and regulate a cattle fair at any place in the State of Punjab under section 3 1  authorises the State to hold control manage and regulate fairs in all places including private lands
But it would be reasonable to interpret the Act so as not to authorise violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed by articles 19 and 31 of the Constitution
It is implicit in the provisions of sections 3  4 of the Act that the monopoly acquired by the State to hold and manage cattle fairs may be held on property belonging to the State and does not extend to the property of local authorities or private owners
The contention that the provisions of the Act and especially the definition of cattle fair in section 2bb impose unreasonable restrictions upon the fundamental rights guaranteed under article 191 b  d has in our judgment no substance
The definition of cattle fair in section bb does not infringe the right of citizens under article 191b to assemble peaceably and without arms and the right under article 1 9  1  d to move freely throughout the territory of India
By the definition clause concourse of twenty five persons is not prohibited the Act does not place restrictions upon the freedom of assembly or of free movement either under cl
b or cl
d of article 191
The Act only prohibits an individual or local authority from arranging a gathering of more than twenty five persons for the purpose specified in the definition of cattle fair
The restriction for the purpose of making the monopoly effective must be regarded as reasonable within the meaning of cls
3  5 of article 19
By imposing restrictions upon the right to hold a fair the citizens are not deprived of their property and the freedom guaranteed by article 191f is not infringed
The primary object of the Act is to give a monopoly to the State to hold cattle fairs
As a necessary concomitant of that monopoly holding of cattle fairs by local authorities and individuals is prohibited
The prohibition flows directly from the assumption of monopoly by the State and falls within the terms of At 19 6 of the Constitution
It is a provision of the law creating monopoly basically and essentially necessary for creating the State monopoly to prevent other persons from conducting the same business
Our attention was invited to the decision of this Court in State of Bihar vs Rameshwar Pratap Narain Singh and Others1 and to a decision of the Madras High Court in Mandivil Vania Pudukudi Ramunni Kurup and Others vs Panchayat Board Badagara and Others2  in support of the plea that a right to hold a fair is property
But those cases have no bearing on the question arising in these petitions
A law which creates a monopoly to 1 2 AIR 1954 Mad
457 carry on a business in the State and thereby deprives the citizens of the right to carry on that business by virtue of article 196 is not open to challenge on the ground that it infringes the Fundamental right guaranteed by article 191 g  The law win not also be exposed to attack on the ground that the right to carry on business is property for the validity of restrictions on the right to carry on occupation trade or business or to practise any profession must be adjudged only in the light of article 196
In any event the presumption of reasonableness of a statute creating a monopoly in the State may come to aid not only in respect of the claim to enforce the right under article 191g but under article 191f as well
Section 15 which authorises the State to call upon a Pancha yat Samiti of a Municipal Committee within whose jurisdiction the fair is to be held to deposit in the Cattle Fair Fund the prescribed amount not exceeding one thousand rupees to cover the initial expenses of the fair and compelling the local authority to abide by the directions is invalid
It is clearly a provision for deprivation of property
Reasonableness of such a provision was not set up either in the affidavit or in the arguments before us
It is true that under section 17 d out of the Cattle Fair Fund the amount which has been recovered from a local authority may be reimbursed but the provision authorising the State to call upon a local authority to pay a sum of money towards the Cattle Fair Fund is in our judgment unreasonable and must be declared invalid
The learned Attomey General appearing on behalf of the State of Punjab did not seek to support the provision
To sum up the power which the State Government may exercise to declare a fair area and to make provision for reservation of sites allotment of sites temporarily for commercial or other purposes and to arrange for watch and ward and to construct temporary offices may be exercised only on lands belonging to the State
No such power may be exercised in respect of lands owned by local
authorities or individuals
The monopoly which is acquired by the State by section 3 is a monopoly to hold control manage and regulate a fair and not a cattle market business
An attempt to prevent persons from conducting the business of cattle
markets and from holding controlling managing and regulating cattle markets is unauthorised for by section 3 private individuals local authorities and associations incorporated or not are prohibited only from holding cattle fairs and not cattle markets
In the light of these principles we proceed to examine the claims made in the five petitions
The Fair Officers have not made any declaration of fair areas which include the lands of the petitioners in Writ Petitions Nos
458 362 443  444 of 1968
In respect of the lands of the petitioners in Writ Petitions Nos 295 and 365 of 1968 a notification defining a fair area has been made
Writ Petition No 295 of 1968 This petition is filed by the Municipal Committee Amritsar
By letter dated August 26 1968 the Deputy Commissioner Amritsar informed the Municipal Committee that a cattle fair was intended to be held as scheduled on the Cattle Fair Ground Mal Mandi under the management of the District Fair Officer and the Municipal Committee was required to arrange to supply water and electricity to make suitable sanitary arrangements to deposit the income from Baisakhi Cattle Fair in Government Treasury in Cattle Fair Fund and to deliver the record in that behalf to the Fair Officer
The Section Officer District Amritsar also served an order purported to be made under section 4 2 i read with section 2 d of the Punjab Cattle Fairs Regulation Act 1967 specifying the fair area for the purpose of con trolling managing regulating and holding the Cattle Fair from October 16 1968 to October 27 1968 at Ram Talui Ki Mandi described as 2 Kilometres from the main building situated in Cattle Fair Ground at Ramtabi  Mal Mandi Amritsar
A Municipal Committee is not according to the decisions of this Court a citizen within the meaning of article 19
The Municipal Committee is therefore not entitled to claim protection of
any of the fundamental rights under article 19
But the State is incompetent to declare land belonging to the Municipal Committee as falling within the fair area and to take possession of that land in exercise of the power conferred by the Act without providing for payment of compensation guaranteed by article 312
The Municipal Committee is by order of the Fair Officer deprived of its property for the duration of the fair
The Act does not authorise the holding of cattle fairs on the land of local authorities individuals or associations
A direction to make Municipal property available for holding a cattle fair by the State is a threat to requisition municipal property without authority of law and without payment of compensation and must be deemed unauthorised
Section 23 of the Act which gives the provisions of the Act a paramount operation notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force will not supersede a constitutional guarantee
It was argued on behalf of the State that by the order only directions to control manage and regulate the fair held on behalf of the Municipal Committee were intended to be given
But that is not the effect of the order passed by the Deputy Commissioner
The Deputy Commissioner informed the Municipal Committee that possession of its land should be handed over so that the State 459 may be able to hold the fair under the provisions of the Punjab Cattle Fairs Regulation Act 1967
Section 31 is intended only to provide for a monopoly in the State to hold cattle fairs
and to control manage and regulate such fairs
The demand
made by the Fair Officer asking the Municipal Committee to supply water electricity and to make sanitary arrangements and make the staff articles
and offices of the Municipal Committee available to the Fair Officer is not warranted by any provision of the Act
The notification issued by the Fair Officer defining the fair area
inclusive of the land of Mat Mandi is therefore unauthorised
The demand made by the Fair Officer for assistance of the staff articles and offices of the Municipality for holding the fair and  the demand for supply of water and electricity and making suit 
able sanitary arrangements is also uncalled for and unauthorised
The directions must therefore be declared invalid
Writ Petition No 362 of 1968 The petitioner is Sardara Singh
He claims that he is in lawful possession of a piece of land situated in village Hussainpur Tahsil and District Rupar Punjab and that for the last ten years he holds a cattle market on that piece of land from the first to the fourth of every month
He also asserted that he has been holding cattle markets on the lands in his lawful possession at Kurali Anandpur Saheb Marunda District Rupar within the State of Punjab
According to the petitioner for the purpose of holding cattle markets on the landsin his occupation at Hussainpur the petitioner had constructed a well for providing water to
the cattle with sheds and mangers
He further claimed that he provides chaff cutters tents charpais and all other amenities which are essential for the cattle and the merchants
It appears from the averments made by the petitioner that he is holding cattle fairs
No declaration was made defining any fair area which included  the lands of the petitioner
The State for reasons already set out is not entitled to hold a cattle fair on the land in the occupation of the petitioner without providing for compensation as guaranteed under article 312
But on that account the petitioner is not entitled to hold a cattle fair even on his own lands
Writ Petition No 365 of 1968 The petitioner is Jagtar Singh
He claims that he has obtained for the period April 1 1968 to March 31 1969 from the Municipal Committee Amritsar a piece of land on lease called the Ahata near theButcher Khana known as Adda BakarMandi
The land is used for an enclosure for sheep and goats brought for sale
The petitioner states that he has constructed near the Butcher Khana ten kothas around a vacant
piece of land for enclosure of goats and sheep brought by prospective sellers and 460 has also constructed some rooms where he provides board and lodging to the merchants who come to Adda Bakar Mandi in connection with their business
He has set out in his petition the manner in which the business is carried on and the charges made by him
It may be sufficient to mention that the petitioner claims that he conducts a cattle market and not a cattle fair
The Fair Officer issued a declaration under section 42i read with section 2d of the Punjab Cattle Fairs Regulation  Act 1967 specifying 2 Kilometres from the main building situated in the Cattle Fair Ground at Bakar Mandi outside Lahori Gate as a fair area for the purpose of controlling managing regulating and holding the Cattle Fair Amritsar at Bakar Mandi outside Lahori Gate
The Fair Officer also addressed a letter to the petitioner dated October 25 1968 informing him that the Punjab Government had exclusively undertaken the work of holding managing controlling and supervising the Cattle Fairs under section 3 of the Punjab Cattle Fairs Regulation Act 1967 and that the petitioner who was carrying on the business of holding a cattle fair should stop running the Bakar Mandi
The Fair Officer informed the petitioner that the ground of the Bakar Mandi had already been specified as fair area by him and on that account the petitioner was prohibited to work as commission agent unless he got a broker s licence under the Act
The land in respect of which the declaration has been made as fair area
is the land of the Municipal Committee of which under a licence or a lease the petitioner is in possession
For reasons which we have already set out the Government of Punjab is not competent to declare the land of the Bakar Mandi a fair area
The notification declaring the Bakar Mandi as fair area is therefore invalid
By section 3 of the Act the cattle fairs can be held in the State of Punjab only by the State and by no other person
But prima facie the business carried on by the petitioner is in the nature of a market for sale of sheep and goats brought by intending sellers for slaughter
Such a place cannot be called a fair
It was urged on behalf of the State that since the petitioner was collecting brokerage and carrying on the business of a broker he was bound to take out a licence under section 9 of the Act
But a person carrying on his business within the fair area lawfully declared is required to obtain a licence but not in respect of his business in a cattle market
The petition filed by Jagtar Singh must therefore be allowed and the order declaring the petitioner s land as fair area and the intimation calling upon him to stop his business of cattle market is unauthorised
461 Writ Petition Nos 443  444 of 1968 The petitioner in these petitions are Narain Singh and another
They claim that they are in legal possession of different pieces of land taken oil lease within the State of Punjab at Khanna Doraha District Ludhiana sunam District Sangrur and also in other Districts where they have been holding cattle markets for the last many years
They claimed that they provide the Prospective sellers and purchasers facilities like cots for resting drinking water sheds mangers chaff cutters tents light chowkidars dry fodder and all other essential amenities
They further claimed that the intending vendors come to their lands with cattle and sell the cattle bargains being struck
through brokers in the market arranged by the Petitioners on those pieces of land
It is not clear from the averments made in the petitions whether the so called market is of the nature of a fair
the Petitioners are prohibited from holding or conducting a cattle fair since the enactment of Punjab Act 6 of 1968
The lands belonging to the petitioners have not been included in a cattle fair area under the notification issued by the Fair Officer
Without deciding the question whether the business carried on by the petitioners is in the nature of a fair or a market we declare that the petitioners are not entitled to carry on the business of a cattle fair and the relief claimed by them in Paragraph 21b cannot be granted
We deem it necessary to add that the petitioners are not prohibited from carrying on the business of cattle market on their own lands
There will be no order as to costs in these petitions


Summary:
In the State of Punjab local authorities and individual owners of land were holding cattle fairs
The Punjab Cattle Fairs Regulation Art 1967 was passed by the State Legislature in exercise of powers under entry 28 of List II of VII Schedule to the Constitution declaring a monopoly in the State to hold cattle fairs and prohibiting all local authorities and individuals from holding cattle fairs at any place in the State 
There was no definition of the expression cattle fair  in the Act
The validity of the Act was challenged on the ground that the provisions of the Act were vague and ambiguous  and the High Court in Mohinder Singh Sawhney vs State of Punjab AIR 1968 Punj 391 accepted the contention Me State Legislature thereupon by Amendment Act 18 of 1968 introduced section 2bb defining the expression cattle fair  to mean a gathering of more than 25 persons for the purpose of general sale or purchase of cattle 
Fair Officers were appointed under section 41 of the Act and under section 42 they declared certain areas as fair areas Some of the areas so declared belonged to a Municipal Committee in the State
The Munici pal Committee a lessee from the Municipal Committee and some residents in the State challenged the Act in this Court on the following grounds 1 Since the Act was struck down in Mohinder Singh Sawhney s case the Act ceased to have any existence in law and could not therefore be amended 2 The order of the High Court in that case operated as res judicata between the parties and could not be enforced without a re enactment of the Act 3 The Act violated articles 191b d f and g and 4 Section 15 if the Act which authorises the State to call upon a Panchayat Samiti or a Municipal Committee within whose jurisdiction the fair is held to deposit a prescribed amount in the Cattle Fair Fund to cover the initial expenses of the fair and compels the local authority to abide by the directions was invalid
The Municipal Committee also challenged the demand by the Fair Officer asking the Municipal Committee to supply water electricity and to make sanitary arrangements and to make the staff articles and offices of the Municipal Committee available to the Fair Officer
448 HELD i The Act as originally enacted was not vague
 When the Legislature did not furnish a definition of cattle fair  it must be deemed to have used the expression in its ordinary signification as meaning a periodical concourse of buyers and sellers in a place generally for sale and purchase of cattle at times or on occasions ordained by custom
454 C E But even if it was vague it could not have been struck down on that ground
The High Court in Mohinder Singh Sawhney s case struck down the Act on the ground of vagueness on the assumption that the validity of the Act was liable to be adjudged by the test of due process of law 
But this Court in A K Gopalan vs State of Madras 1950 SCR 88 held that the doctrine of due process has no place in our Constitution
Superior Courts in India may declare a law invalid if the Legislature has no power to enact the law or if the law violates any of the fundamental rights guaranteed in Part III of the Constitution or is inconsistent with any constitutional provision but not on the ground that it is vague
Therefore as a result of the judgment of the High Court the Act did not cease to have existence in law
453 C D G 454 A B Kehar Singh vs The State of Punjab  approved
2 The decision in Mohinder Singh Sawhney s case does not operate as res judicata even in favour of the petitioners in that case
Its effect was only that the Act was in law non existent so long as there was no definition of the expression cattle fair  in the Act
But that defect has been remedied by the Amending Act
454 B C 3 a The Act does not impose unreasonable restrictions upon the fundamental rights guaranteed under article 191b and d
It prohibits an individual or local authority from arranging a gathering of more than 25 persons for the purpose specified in the definition
The restriction was only for the purpose of making the monopoly effective and must be regarded as a reasonable restriction within the meaning of cls
193 and 5 upon the freedom of assembly and of free movement
456 C E b The Act is restricted in its scope and the freedoms guaranteed by article 191 f and g are also not infringed
i A law which is basically and essentially necessary  for creating a State monopoly and thereby deprives the citizens of the right to carry on he same business is not by virtue of article 196 open to challenge on the ground that it infringes the fundamental right guaranteed by article 191 g
In the present case the primary object of the Act is to give a monopoly to the State to hold cattle fairs and as a necessary concomitant of that monopoly holding of cattle fairs by local authorities and individuals is prohibited
The law will not also be exposed to attack on the ground that the right to carry on business is property for the validity of restrictions on the right to carry on occupation trade or business or to practice any profession must be adjudged only in the light of article 196
Moreover the presumption of reasonableness of a statute creating a monopoly in the State applies not only in respect of the right under article 191g but also under article 191f
456 E G 457 A C Akadasi Padhan vs State of Orissa 1963 Supp 2 SCR 691 followed
State of Bihar vs Rameshwar Pratap Narain 1962 2 SCR 382 and M V P Ramunni Kurup vs Panchayat Board Badagara AIR 1954 Mad
754 referred to
449 ii The prohibition imposed upon all persons and authorities is in respect of only cattle fairs and not in respect of cattle markets that is places where the business of see or purchase is regularly conducted by private parties and not as a fair
The Act does not prohibit anyone from carrying on the business of cattle market on his own land
455 E F 461 E When the business is in the nature of a market for sale of sheep and goats brought by intending sellers for slaughter such a place cannot be called a fair
A person carrying on his business in a cattle market on his own land need not take out a licence under section 9 of the Act even though he was collecting brokerage and was carrying on the business of a broker because it is only a person carrying on his business within a fair area lawfully declared that is required to obtain the licence
460 F H iii Though the words used in section 4 are wide and are capable of the interpretation that the State could hold a cattle fair at any place it is implicit in sections 3 and 4 that the monopoly acquired by the State to hold and manage cattle fairs is confined to property belonging to the State and does not extend to the property of local authorities or private owners
456 A C A Municipal Committee is not a citizen  within the meaning of article 19 and therefore is not entitled to claim protection of any of the fundamental rights under article 19But a direction to make municipal property available for holding a cattle fair by the State is a threat to requisition municipal property without authority of law and is not a mere direction to regulate the fair held on behalf of the Municipal Committee
Such a taking possession of property without payment of compensation as required by article 312 must be deemed unauthorised and section 23 giving the pro visions of the Act a paramount operation notwithstanding anything inconsistent in any other law will not supersede the constitutional guarantee
458 E G 4 Under section 17d out of the Cattle Fair Fund the amount recovered from a local authority may be reimbursed but the provision in section 15 authorising the State to call upon a local authority to pay a sum of money towards the Cattle Fair Fund is an unreasonable deprivation of property and violates the right under article 191 f and hence is invalid
457 C E Also the demand made by the Fair Officer for assistance of the staff articles and offices of the Municipality for holding a fair and the demand for supply of water and electricity and making suitable sanitary arrangements are not warranted by any provision of the Act and must be de clared invalid
459 A C