Case: Jagannath And Others Vs. Union Of India

Petitioners Nos. 1 to 17 are tobacco cultivators and they carry on the trade and business of growing tobacco and of selling it in Kaimganj Tahsil in the District of Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh. Petitioners 18 to 30 are partners or proprietors or agents of firms which are private bonded warehouse licensees and they carry on trade and business of purchasing tobacco from the cultivators and of selling the same to dealers or to other private warehouse licensees.

Court's reasoning:
The conclusion of the Committee, therefore, was that the only criterion which is safe to adopt is the one relating to the physical form of tobacco as affecting its suitability for biri making. The Committee realised that it was very difficult to classify specified varieties as solely chewing tobacco because many of these varieties are also used for making snuff and for hooka purposes. Normally, however, most chewing varieties are in whole leaf form and or cured by addition of moisture. Tobacco cured in whole leaf form cannot be converted into flakes as readily as tobacco cured by dry curing methods, and in the opinion of the Committee, although it is possible to prepare flakes out of tobacco cured in whole leaf form the process of conversion into flakes causes much higher proportions to crumble into dust, rawa and other unsaleable forms The Committee was conscious that the whole leaf varieties after suitable manipulation can be utilised for biri manufacturing purposes but it thought that this could be done only after converting them into graded flakes, and even thereafter only by admixture with other tobacco on a small localised scale. In regard to the broken leaf grades which the Committee recommended should be liable to assessment at the higher rate relief was recommended by permitting any owner to convert his broken leaf tobacco into fine rawa or dust in which form it will become physically unusable for biris. According to the Committee, after such manipulation of physical form, the resultant, if it fulfils the specifications for rawa and dust, may be allowed assessment at the lower rateThe problem which the Committee had to face was to classify tobacco other than flue cured which would be used for the manufacture of biris, and with that object Cl. (5) and Cl. (6) have been devised. Therefore, in our opinion, the distinction between tobacco falling under Cl. (5) and Cl. (6), according to the report of the Committee, is so clear and unambiguous and its relation to the object intended by the imposition of tariff is so clearly reasonable that the attack against its validity on the ground of unconstitutional discrimination cannot be upheldIn the counter-affidavit the allegations made in regard to the exclusive user of Nicotiana Rustica are generally denied and what is more the report of the Committee specifically points out that though Rustica varieties of tobacco are generally not known to be used for biris, when they are cured in broken leaf grades they can be used with admixture with biri tobacco like Pandharpuri tobacco for imparting strength to biri mixtures, and so according to the Committee no generalisation in this matter is possible and it cannot be asserted that all forms of this variety are incapable of use in biris. Besides, it would be quite possible for dealers in the said varieties of tobacco to send them to other parts of the country where they are used for the purpose of manufacturing biris. Therefore, the grievance made by the petitioners that the tobacco in which they deal can never be used for biris is obviously not well founded.