Summarize the following court judgment. 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 W.P. No. 362 of 1968). R. K. P. Shankar Dass Bishambar Lal and H. K. Puri	 for the petitioners (in W.P. No. 365 of 1968). 450 Jagjit Singh Chawla	 section K. Mehta and K. L. Mehta	 for the petitioners (in W.P. Nos. 443 and 444 of 1968). Niren De	 Attorney General	 V. C. Mahajan and R. N. Sach they	 for the respondents (in W.P. Nos. 295 and 362 of 1968). V. C. Mahajan and R. N. Sachthey	 for the respondents (in W.P. No. 365 of 1968). R. N. Sachthey	 for the respondents (in W.P. 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 2(b) 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 4(1) 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 Others(1) Before the High Court one of the contentions raised by the (1) A.I.R. [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 2(bb) 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 & Another(1). 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 19(1)(f) & (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 case(2) (1) (2) A.I.R. [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 Company(1) 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 Madras(2). Kania	 C.J.	 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 case(1) 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 2(bb). 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 19(1) (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) A.l. R. [1968] Punjab 391 (2) [1963] Supp. 2 S.C.R. 691. 455 State monopoly. It is only those essential and basic provisions which are protected by the latter part of article 19(6). 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 19(6). In other words	 the effect of the amendment made in article 19(6) 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 19(6) and would inevitably have to satisfy the test of the first part of article 19(6). " 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 3(2) 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	 i.e.	 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 4(2). 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 2(bb)	 impose unreasonable restrictions upon the fundamental rights guaranteed under article 19(1) (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 19(1)(b) 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 19(1). 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 19(1)(f) 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 Others(1) and to a decision of the Madras High Court in Mandivil Vania Pudukudi Ramunni Kurup and Others vs Panchayat Board	 Badagara and Others(2 ) 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) A.I.R. [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 19(6) is not open to challenge on the ground that it infringes the Fundamental right guaranteed by article 19(1) (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 19(6). 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 19(1)(g) but under article 19(1)(f) 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 31(2). 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 3(1) 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 lands.in 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 31(2). 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 the."Butcher 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 4(2)(i) read with section 2(d) 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 21(b) 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.

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	 A.I.R. 1968 Punj. 391	 accepted the contention. 'Me State Legislature thereupon	 by Amendment Act 18 of 1968 introduced section 2(bb) 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 4(1) of the Act	 and under section 4(2) 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 19(1)(b)	 (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] S.C.R. 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 19(1)(b) 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. 19(3) 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 19(1) (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 19(6)	 open to challenge on the ground that it infringes the fundamental right guaranteed by article 19(1) (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 19(6). Moreover	 the presumption of reasonableness of a statute creating a monopoly in the State applies not only in respect of the right under article 19(1)(g) but also under article 19(1)(f). [456 E G; 457 A C] Akadasi Padhan vs State of Orissa	 [1963] Supp. 2 S.C.R. 691	 followed. State of Bihar vs Rameshwar Pratap Narain; [1962] 2 S.C.R. 382 and M. V. P. Ramunni Kurup vs Panchayat Board	 Badagara	 A.I.R. 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 19.But 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 31(2) 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 17(d)	 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 19(1) (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]