Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951

Minerva Mills Ltd., a textile company, was nationalized under the Sick Textile Undertakings (Nationalisation) Act, 1974, following an investigation and takeover order under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951. The petitioners challenged the constitutional validity of certain provisions of the National…

The American Home Products Corporation (the appellant) applied in 1958 to register the trademark ‘Dristan’ in India, claiming it would be used by the appellant. In fact, the appellant intended the mark to be used in India by its Indian associate, Geoffrey Manners & Co., which would become a registered user under a tech…

Oswal Agro Furane Ltd., a 100% export‑oriented unit licensed to manufacture furfural and edible rice bran oil, sought to export non‑basmati rice and to sell the rice bran oil in the domestic market, invoking Clause 15(j) of the Export (Control) Order, 1988 as a blanket exemption. The Delhi High Court allowed these expo…

The Supreme Court examined whether the Union Government could de‑license the sugar industry by issuing Press Note 12 and a Notification under Section 298 of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951, without a parliamentary amendment. It held that the executive power under Article 73(1) is co‑extensive with…

The Supreme Court examined a series of appeals challenging the grant of an industrial licence to Al‑Kabeer Exports Ltd. for a mechanised slaughter‑house in Medak district, Andhra Pradesh. The petitioners argued that the licence violated location prohibitions, environmental standards, the Andhra Pradesh Prohibition of C…

The appellant, Mis. Sun Beverages Ltd., set up a pioneer industrial unit in a zero‑industrial area of Uttar Pradesh and was registered as a Medium Scale Industry with the Director General of Technical Development (DGTD). It received a cash subsidy of Rs.15 lacs under the State's Capital Grant Scheme. After the Governme…

The Straw Board Manufacturing Co. claimed concessional tax rates, a development rebate under section 33 and a deduction under section 80‑E of the Income Tax Act for the assessment years 1965‑66 to 1967‑68, asserting that strawboard manufacturing is a priority industry listed in the schedules. The Income Tax Officer rej…

Kothandran Spg. Mills Pvt. Ltd. was taken over by the National Textile Corporation under the Sick Textile Undertakings (Taking Over of Management) Act, 1972, and later the Sick Textile Undertakings (Nationalisation) Act, 1974 came into force. The petitioners filed a writ petition under Article 32 challenging the consti…

Panipat Woollen & General Mills Co. Ltd. had two textile mills that were placed under liquidation and closed in May 1972. The mills were listed as "sick textile undertakings" in the First Schedule of the Sick Textile Undertakings (Taking Over of Management) Act, 1972, causing their management to vest in the Central Gov…

The Rajasthan Government, by a 1990 notification, declared medicinal and toilet preparations containing more than 20% proof alcohol to be "liquor" under the Rajasthan Excise Act and its 1989 Rules. Several manufacturers of Ayurvedic medicines challenged the notification and the Rules as beyond the State's legislative c…

The Nashik Workers Union filed several complaints under the Maharashtra Recognition of Trade Unions and Prevention of Unfair Labour Practices Act, 1971 seeking reinstatement and back wages for trainees of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The dispute turned on whether, for HAL, the "appropriate Government" under Sec…

The State of Uttar Pradesh challenged the levy of a licence fee on denatured spirit, arguing that the Union's Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 (particularly Section 18‑G) ousted the State's power to legislate under Entry 33 of List III of the Seventh Schedule. The High Court had declared the fee illega…

The Supreme Court examined the controversy surrounding the establishment of a mechanised slaughter house (Alkabeer Abattoir) at Rudraram, Medak district, Andhra Pradesh. The petitioner organisations challenged the various permissions granted to the company, arguing that the slaughter house would deplete cattle wealth a…

The Supreme Court examined the State of Madhya Pradesh's policy decision of 30 December 1984 to privatise nine state‑owned liquor distilleries by granting D‑2 licences to existing contractors for constructing new distilleries and D‑1 licences for wholesale supply. The petitioners challenged the decision on grounds of a…

The Provident Fund Inspector filed complaints against the directors and factory manager of Burhanpur Tapti Mills Ltd for failing to pay the employer's contribution to the Employees' Provident Fund and Family Pension Fund Act, 1952, for the period February 1970 to June 1971. The accused contended that the complaint was …

The Constitution Bench examined whether the Parliament’s Tobacco Board Act, 1975 (under Entry 52 of List I) validly covers the sale of raw tobacco and whether State Agricultural Produce Markets Acts (under Entry 28/66 of List II) can levy market fees on tobacco. The Court held that the word “industry” in Entry 52 must …

The Supreme Court of India, in a 9-judge bench reference, addressed the scope of Entry 8 of List II of the Seventh Schedule (intoxicating liquors) and its interplay with Entry 52 of List I (industries controlled by the Union). The case arose from a challenge by the State of Uttar Pradesh against a High Court decision t…

Mis. Dhampur Sugar (Kashipur) Ltd., a sugar manufacturer, applied for a licence to set up a power‑crusher unit for manufacturing rah from sugarcane. The application was initially rejected under the existing licensing policy, but after the State Government modified the policy on 15 November 2003, a fresh application by …

The State of Andhra Pradesh enacted the Prohibition Act, 1995 and later amended it to prohibit the manufacture of intoxicating liquor. Several liquor manufacturers challenged the amendment, arguing that the State lacked competence under Entry 8 of List II because the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 (I…

The petitioners filed a writ under Article 32 seeking the closure of Shriram Foods & Fertilizers' hazardous units. During the proceedings oleum gas escaped, prompting the Delhi Legal Aid Board and Delhi Bar Association to file applications for compensation on behalf of victims. The Court examined the scope of Article 3…

Prakash Trading Co., a groundnut oil manufacturer, claimed an additional tax deduction for deoiled cakes exported or sold to exporters under the export incentive provisions of the Finance Acts of 1966 and 1967, which were linked to the First Schedule of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951. The Income …

The State of Uttar Pradesh levied a vend fee on the wholesale sale of denatured spirit and sought to validate the levy through the Uttar Pradesh Excise (Amendment) Act, 1972 and its 1976 re‑enactment. Licensees challenged the fee, arguing that the State lacked legislative competence, that the fee was an excise duty pro…

The petitioners, wholesale liquor traders, challenged several Karnataka excise rules and a Kerala government order, alleging that they violated their fundamental right under Article 19(1)(g) to carry on trade or business in liquor and were inconsistent with Articles 14, 47, 300A, 301 and 304. The Constitution Bench was…

The State of Madhya Pradesh issued a 1981 notification exempting certain classes of dealers from sales tax, but the Director of Industries denied certificates to flour and dal mill units on the ground that they were "traditional industries" excluded by earlier subsidy schemes. The assessees argued that the notification…

The Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh filed four references under the Bombay Industrial Relations Act seeking bonus for workmen of Model Mills, Nagpur for the years 1964‑68, alleging the employer was liable under the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965. The employer contended that a notified order under Section 18A of the Industries…

The State of Uttar Pradesh and its excise officials appealed against a High Court order that required Mawana Sugars Ltd. to retain only 25% of its balance stock of molasses for supply to country‑liquor distilleries for the Molasses Year 2015‑16. The dispute centered on the interpretation of the State’s Molasses Policy …

The Uttar Pradesh legislature amended its 1939 Motor Spirit, Diesel Oil and Alcohol Taxation Act to levy a purchase tax on industrial alcohol, which was challenged as unconstitutional because industrial alcohol is regulated by the Central Government under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951. The respo…

The Supreme Court examined appeals by several cooperative sugar factories and the State of Maharashtra against a Bombay High Court order that directed non‑member sugarcane growers to be paid the prevailing market price and to be allowed to sell to any factory. The Court held that the Maharashtra Sugar Factories (Reserv…

The Supreme Court examined the Bihar Sugar Undertakings (Acquisition) Act, 1985, which sought to acquire certain sugar mills and associated distilleries. Petitioners challenged the Act on the ground that it was beyond the State's legislative competence, overlapped with the central Sugar Undertaking (Taking over of Mana…

Vasavadatta Cements, a cement manufacturer, challenged the constitutional validity of Section 5(3‑D) of the Karnataka Sales Tax Act, 1957, which made packing material (gunny/plastic bags) taxable. The Karnataka High Court dismissed the challenge, relying on Ranganatha Associates and the Supreme Court’s decision in Rajs…

The cement manufacturers challenged Clause 9A of the Cement Control Order, 1967, which required a payment of Rs 9 per metric tonne on non‑levy cement, arguing that it was a tax imposed without statutory authority. The issue before the Supreme Court was whether the clause was ultra vires Section 18G of the Industries (D…

The State of Uttar Pradesh imposed a licence fee of 15 paise per litre on specially denatured spirit (SDS) under Rule 3(a) of the 1978 Rules, which the respondents challenged as an illegal tax. The Supreme Court examined whether the fee was a genuine regulatory fee supported by a quid pro quo relationship with the cost…

M.K. Saharia, former Managing Director of Nagaland Forest Products Ltd., challenged the Nagaland Forest Products Ltd. (Acquisition of Shares) Ordinance, 1981 and the subsequent Act, 1982, which transferred the State's acquisition of the company's S‑class shares. He argued that the State's takeover of shares amounted to…

The petitioners, New Satgram Engineering Works and related properties, challenged the takeover of their engineering unit, bungalow and guest house by the Central Government under the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973, seeking a mandamus. The High Court declined to decide whether these assets fell within the defini…

Swami Samarth Sugars and Agro Industries Ltd. (appellant) obtained an Industrial Entrepreneur Memorandum (IEM) in 2010 to set up a new sugar factory, which was challenged in multiple writ petitions on the grounds of aerial distance and environmental compliance. The High Court dismissed the petitions but held that the a…

The Indian Aluminium Company set up an aluminium smelter in Karnataka and entered into two tripartite agreements (1966 and 1976) with the Karnataka Electricity Board and the State for uninterrupted power at concessional rates. The Board later raised tariffs, and Karnataka amended Section 49 of the Electricity (Supply) …

The appellants were convicted under Section 3 read with Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 for allegedly possessing and diverting government‑quota cement in 1994. The prosecution relied on the Maharashtra Cement (Licensing and Control) Order, 1973 and the Cement Control Order, 1967, but the Supreme Court …

The Supreme Court entertained a social‑action writ filed by the Indian Council for Enviro‑Legal Action on behalf of villagers of Bichhri, who suffered severe water, soil and health damage due to untreated effluents and toxic sludge from private chemical industries. The petition sought directions against the Union of In…

Swadeshi Cotton Mills challenged a Government order under Section 18AA of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951, which authorised the National Textile Corporation to take over its management without a prior hearing. The Supreme Court examined whether the principle of audi alteram partem was implied in S…

The Supreme Court examined challenges by several textile mills manufacturing rayon and nylon yarn to the fee imposed by the Textiles Committee under Rule 21 of the Textile Committee Rules, 1965 (made under s.22 of the Textile Committee Act, 1963). The mills argued that the fee was unconstitutional because the Committee…

The Supreme Court considered multiple suits and special leave petitions concerning whether 10,00,000 shares in Swadeshi Polytex Ltd. and 17,18,344 shares in Swadeshi Mining & Manufacturing Ltd., held by Swadeshi Cotton Mills, along with certain immovable properties in Kanpur, vested in the Central Government under Sect…

The Supreme Court examined the validity of the Himachal Pradesh government's refusal to approve several katha‑manufacturing units after the Industrial Projects Approval and Review Authority (IPARA) had given provisional approvals. The Court held that IPARA’s approvals were merely administrative recommendations and did …

The Karnataka State Legislature amended the Mysore Silkworm Seed and Cocoon (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 1959 to include restrictions on silk yarn, prompting petitioners to challenge its validity on the ground that Parliament's Central Silk Boards Act, 1948, under Entry 52 of List I, made th…

Sodani Cement and Chemicals (P) Ltd., a small‑scale industry (SSI) manufacturing ordinary Portland cement, sought the benefit of Notification No. 23/1989‑CE which exempts cement produced in a vertical shaft kiln with a licensed capacity not exceeding 200 tonnes per day from the normal excise duty of Rs. 215 per tonne, …

The Supreme Court examined whether the Bihar Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1960 (the Market Act) could be applied to transactions involving sugarcane, sugar, molasses, wheat products, vegetable oils, rice, milk products and tea. It held that the special statutes governing sugarcane, sugar and molasses – the Bihar S…

The appellant, Mis. Ramnarayan Satyanarayan Agrawal Distilleries Pvt. Ltd., employed only 22 workers and sought to manufacture potable alcohol under a state‑granted permission. Respondents, Associated Alcohols & Breweries Ltd. and others, challenged the appellant's tender, arguing that only a licence from the Central G…

The Industrial Papers (Assam) Ltd. Employees Union filed a writ petition alleging that the Assam Industrial Development Corporation Ltd. (AIDC) failed to pay salaries to its members after the Extensible Sack Kraft Paper Project was closed, contending that AIDC was the owner of the project and thus responsible for the e…

Minerva Mills Ltd., a loss‑making textile undertaking, was investigated under s.15 of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951. The Central Government, finding the mill’s management detrimental to public interest, ordered a takeover under s.18A of the same Act on 19 October 1971. Subsequently, the Sick Tex…

Shivashakti Sugars Ltd obtained permission to set up a sugar factory in Saundatti, Karnataka, but the High Court held that the nearby Raibagh Sahakari factory was an existing sugar mill within 15 km, violating Clause 6A of the Sugarcane Control (Amendment) Order, 2006, and ordered the factory’s closure. On appeal, the …

The Supreme Court examined claims by State Bank of India and other banks for compensation under the Sick Textile Undertakings (Nationalisation) Act, 1974 after the management of a sick textile mill was taken over by an authorised controller under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951. The banks sought p…

The Municipal Corporation of Greater Bombay challenged the assessment of rateable value of a housing building constructed by New Standard Engineering Co. Ltd. under a Government subsidised scheme for industrial workers. The corporation had fixed the rateable value under Section 154(1) of the Bombay Municipal Corporatio…

The Supreme Court considered appeals by Hindustan Vegetable Oils Corporation Ltd. (the appellant) against an Allahabad High Court order that compelled it to issue Declaration Forms (Form III‑Kha) to several dealers (the respondents) for tins purchased for vanaspati production. The dispute centered on whether the appell…

The Collector of Central Excise, Patna appealed against the Customs, Excise & Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal’s order that the value of motor vehicles for the automobile cess should be computed under the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944, as per Rule 3 of the Automobile Cess Rules, 1984. The assessee, Tata Engineeri…

The Supreme Court examined a group of writ petitions challenging the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Amendment Act, 1976, which terminated existing coal mining leases and barred private persons from carrying out coal mining operations. The petitioners, lessees of coal and composite (coal‑fireclay) mines, argued that the a…

The assessee, ACE Multi Axes Systems Ltd., claimed a deduction under Section 80IB(3) of the Income Tax Act for ten consecutive assessment years, asserting it qualified as a small‑scale industrial undertaking in the initial year. The Revenue disallowed the deduction for the assessment year 2005‑06 onward because the val…

The petitioners challenged the Rajasthan Excise Amendment Act, 1985, which added Section 17A and the class "Mollasses" to Section 41(2)(d) of the Rajasthan Excise Act, 1950, alleging that it conflicted with the central Mollasses Control Order, 1961 made under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951. The S…

The Supreme Court examined the constitutional validity of the Handlooms (Reservation of Articles for Production) Act, 1985 and the 4 August 1986 order reserving certain textiles for exclusive handloom production. Petitioners argued that the reservation created a monopoly, violated Articles 14 and 19(1)(g) of the Consti…

The Supreme Court examined whether the surplus lands owned by Shree Sitaram Mills formed part of the "assets in relation to the textile undertaking" under sub‑section (2) of section 3 of the Textile Undertakings (Taking Over of Management) Act, 1983. The mill, a sick textile undertaking, had been disposing of surplus l…

The Barnagore Jute Factory and other jute manufacturers challenged the levy of a cess on jute yarn and twine under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951, arguing that jute yarn was not covered by Heading 23(2) of the First Schedule, that intermediate products could not be taxed, and that the cess could …

The Zippers Karamchari Union filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking to quash the Central Government's permission to YKK for setting up an integrated plant for zip fasteners and to set aside Notification No. S.O. 309(E) dated 30 May 1986, alleging that the de‑reservation of zip‑fastener manufacturing from the sm…

The petitioners, owners of twelve sugar undertakings, challenged the constitutional validity of the U.P. Sugar Undertakings (Acquisition) Act, 1971, which transferred those undertakings to a government corporation. They argued that the State legislature lacked competence because sugar is a "declared industry" under the…

Indore Textiles Ltd., a closed public limited company, had its management taken over by the Central Government under Section 18AA of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951. Shortly before the expiry of that takeover, the Madhya Pradesh Governor promulgated an ordinance, later replaced by the Indore Texti…

Southern Pharmaceuticals and other manufacturers of medicinal and toilet preparations containing alcohol challenged the constitutional validity of sections 12A, 12B, 14(e), 14(f) and 68A of the Kerala Abkari Act, 1967 and related rules, arguing that the State lacked competence because the subject fell within the Union’…