Holding

Timber logs fall within the definition of "plant" under the Notification and are subject to quarantine regulations under the Destructive Insects and Pests Act, 1914, irrespective of their intended use, because the mere possibility of carrying harmful insects, fungi or pests justifies the restriction.

Summary

Sarda Plywood Ltd. and another challenged a 1989 notification issued under the Destructive Insects and Pests Act, 1914, which restricted the import of "any plant" including timber logs. The petitioners argued that the timber, intended for plywood manufacture, would not come into contact with crops and therefore should not be subject to quarantine regulations. The Supreme Court held that the object of the Act is to prevent the entry of potential carriers of insects, fungi or pests, and that the definition of "plant" in the notification expressly includes timber logs, whether living or dead. The Court emphasized that the mere possibility of infection suffices to justify the restriction, and the intended use of the timber is irrelevant. Consequently, the Special Leave Petition was dismissed, upholding the validity of the quarantine measures.

Issues considered

Whether timber logs imported for plywood manufacture are covered by the quarantine regulations under the Notification dated 27.10.1989 issued under the Destructive Insects and Pests Act, 1914
Whether the term "plant" in the Notification includes timber logs
Whether the intended purpose of the imported timber affects the applicability of the restriction
Whether the possibility of carrying harmful insects, fungi or pests is sufficient to justify the regulation

Legislation cited

Destructive Insects and Pests Act, 1914s. 3

Subjects

Destructive Insects and Pests Actquarantineimport restrictionsdefinition of planttimber logspublic healthregulatory lawspecial leave petitionenvironmental protection

Judgment

SARDA PLYWOOD LTD. AND ANR.
A
v.
•
UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.

APRIL 9, 1990

B [M.N. VENKATACHALIAH AND K. JAYACHANDRA
REDDY, JJ.]

Destructive Insects and Pests Act, 1914-0bject and scope of
Destructive l11Sects and Pests Act, 1914-Section 3-Restriction
on imported articles-Purpose of-Imported timber for use in plywood
C manufacture-Whether amenable to Quarantine regulations under the
Notification dated 27. IO. 1989.
Notification dated 27.10.1989-Clause ( 1) of para 2-"Plant"-
Whether includes timber logs.

D Words and Phrases-'Plant'-'Timber Iog'-'Quantine'-Meaning
of.

The petitioners filed a writ petition in the High Court, challenging •
the Notification dated 27 .10.1989 issued under the Destructive lllsects
and Pests Act, 1914.
E
Examining the question whether certain logs of timber imported
by the petitioners from foreign countries for use in the manufacture of
plywood were amenable to Quarantine regulations under the aforesaid
statutory notification, the High Court dismissed the writ petition.

F The petitioners filed the Special Leave Petition, against the High
Court's judgment contending that the imported timber logs were not
likely to come into contact with any crop or plant but were directly
removed to the factory where plywood was manufactured, and there
was no possibility of the insects or the fungus or the pests in them
infecting any plant.
G
Dismissing the petition, this Court,

HELD: 1. The object of the Destructive Insects and Pests Act,
1914 is to protect plant-life in lndia from such alien insects, fungus and
pests which might be introduced into the country through imported
H articles contaminated with them or carried by them. This object ls •·
SARDA PLYWOOD v. U.0.l. 7

sought to be achieved by preventing the entry into the soil of India, of A
such potential carriers. The question whether after such import the
insects, fungus, or pests actually infect plant-life or not is not the deci·
sive factor. The very existence of a possibility of such infection is
sufficient justification. The main purpose is to prevent their very entry
into India. The need for treatment and the like envisaged in the notifica·
tion rightly pre-supposes the potentiality of the timber logs for carrying B
those insects and pests. [llG-H, 12A]

2.1 It is in the public interest that State prohibits or regulates
_j entry into its territories harmful substances, impure food, animals or
persons having contagious diseases or articles which are a potential
danger to the health, safety well-being and ·good morals of the com·
munity or the health of the flora and the fauna. [SF ·G]
c

2.2. The extent of the prohibition or regulation must be com·
mensurate with a reasonable relation to the object and should not be
unduly restrictive of the citizen's rights. [ llA]
D
Encyclopedia Americana (Volume 23); Interstate Barriers in Indio
• and American Constitutional Experience: Lawrence F. Ebb: Stanford
Law Review, Vol.• II 1958-59, Referred.

3. The expression "plant" is defined in clause (i) of para 2 Of the
Notification, to mean any plant or part thereof whether living or dead, E
trees, shrubs, nursery stock and includes all vegetatively propagated
materials. The timber logs of the kind concerned in the present case fall
within this definition. [llE·F]

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Special Leave Petition
No. 1277 of 1990. F
AND
I.A. No. 3 of 1990.

From the Judgment and Order dated 15. 1.1990 of the Delhi High
CourtinC.W.P.82ofl990. G

M.L. Lahoty, H. Shekhar, S.C. Sharma, P.S. Jha and Mrs.
Shipra Kha janchi for the Petitioners;

Ashok H. Desai, Solicitor General, S. Ganesh and Mrs. S. Suri
for the Respondents. H
8 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1990] Supp. 3 S.C.R.

A K. Parasaran, V. Radhakrishnan and V. Balachandran for the
Intervenor.

The following Order of the Court was delivered by

B The question raised before the High Court, and reiterated here,
was whether certain logs of timber imported by the Petitioners from
Korea, Burma, Malaysia etc. for use in the manufacture of plywood
were amenable to Quarantine regulations under the statutory notifica-
tion dated 27 .10.1989 issued under the provisions of an agricultural
quarantine law viz., the Destructive Insects and Pests Act, 1914
c (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act'). It was contended before the
High Court that the quarantine regulations for the detention, inspec-
tion, fumigation, etc of the logs of timber imported for the specific
purpose of manufacture of plywood can have no nexus to the object of
the Act which was to prevent the introduction into India and prevent
the transport from one State to another, insects, Fungus or other pests
D destructive of crops. The High Court dismissed the Writ Petition, in
limine.
•
2. Section 3 of the Act, as amended by Act 6 of 1938, envisages
that Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, prohibit
E or regulate, subject to restrictions and conditions as it may imporse,
the import into India or any part thereof or any specified place therein,
of any article or class of articles likely to cause infection to any crop.
The object of the Act is to prevent introduction into India of any
insect, fungus or other pest destructive or crops. This object is to be
carried into effect by the prohibition or regulation of the import of any
F ?rticle or class of articles likely to cause such infestation of the crops.

3. It is in the public interest that State prohibits or regulates
entry into its territories harmful substances, impure food, animals or
--
persons having contagious diseases or articles which are a potential
danger to the health, safety well-being and good morals of the com-
G munity or the health of the flora and the fauna. In the Statement of
Objects and Reasons of the Bill it was stated:

"This Bill is the outcome of representations made by the
Bombay Chamber of Commerce in 1906, and it has been
prepared after consultation with experts and with a consi-
H derable number of bodies and persons interested in .garden-
SARDA PLYWOOD v. U.O.l. 9
1'
ing and agriculture. It gives power to Government to con-
A
trol the importation into British India of articles likely to
cause infection to crops, and is based partly on the cor-
responding English acts of 1877 and 1907, and partly on the
provisions of the Indian Livestock Inspection Act of 1898,

2. Action under the Bill would be taken in respect of B
certain crops only and would assume various forms accord-
ing to the crop or the class of infection concerned. In some
cases, for instance, importation would be prohibited except
; at certain ports, and then after fumigatl(ln. In others,
~
importation would have to be accompanied by certificates
of freedom from disease; while in others, importation
would be allowed under a license from the Agricultural
c
Department."

And in the speech to move for leave to introduce the Bill Sir Edward
Madagan said:
D
"My Lord, the Government was addressed some years ago
by the Bombay Chamber of Commerce, who pointed out
that most other countries had protected themselves by
somewhat stringent measures from the damage done to
agriculture and gardening by the introduction of destruc-
tive insects and other pests. They urged upon us that, with E
the increase of communications, the time had then come
when similar precuations should be taken in India. 'The
attention of the Chamber', they said, 'has recently been
drawn to the danger of the introduction into India of insect
pests, more particularly through the importation of plants
from foreign countries. This danger is ever present and F
•• owing to increased communication and trade with various
other portions of the world' and the more rapid transport
of merchandise, the danger has now become extremely
serious. It is reasonable to suppose that if some forms of
virulent insect pests obtain footing here, and are allowed to
propagate unchecked, the damage done to the staple crops G
of this country will be incalculable. *******In Europe and
America very stringent precautions are now taken, and in
Australia plants are thoroughly fumigated on both leaving
and arriving in the country. Considering the great import-
ance of the question, my committee strongly urge that simi-
lar precautions may be taken in India, and more particu- H
10 SUPREME ¢:OURT REPORTS [ 1990] Supp. 3 S.C. R.

larly in Bombay******. On receipt of this representation
•
A
we consulted our experts and ascertained that in several
cases disease had already been introduced along with
imported material and that there were many destructive
diseases in other countries which were likely to be intro-
duced into India if no restrictions were imposed. We
B further ascertained from the Customs authorities that a
considerable number of packages containing fruit, bulbs,
roots, seeds and plants were regularly imported into India,
and it seemed clear that if steps were not taken to control
such importations, considerable loss might be occasioned '
to the agriculture and fruit culture of this country."
c "We had originally proposed to impose the necessary
restrictions by a notification under the Sea Customs Act of
1878, but we found that the terms of that Act did not
adequately cover the case with which we had to deal. We
decided, therefore, to resort to special legislation, and the
D present Bill has been accordingly prepared, under which
the Government is armed with the powers necessary for the
purpose."

In the Encyclopedia Americana (Volume 23), the meaning of the
word "quarantine" is set out:
E
"The word, quarantine, is derived from the Italian quaran-
tina and quaranta, "forty." It originally meant the 40-day
period of isolation of a ship, including cargo, passengers,
and crew, when the ship came from a port that had certain
epidemic diseases or if there was unusual illness among the
F passengers or crew. The practice of restricting the move-
ment of travelers originated in 14th century Europe, then
swept by the Black Death. Authorities realised that
..
bubonic plague is highly contagious. They instituted regu-
lations barring or limiting the entrance and movement:;. of
people and goods known to carry, or suspected of carrying
G plaque. Venice led in this field."

"The spread of animal and plant diseases in interna-
tional traffic has similarly given rise to a series of laws
known as agricultural quarantine laws and procedures.
These regulations are based on known scientifically effec- ~·

H tive procedures. In those cases in which there is no certain
SARDA PLYWOOD v. U.O'.L 11
.•
method of preventing the introduction of a disease, the
A
particular plant or animal is refused entry into a country."

The extent of the prohibition or regulation must be commensurate
with and show a reasonable relation to the object and should not be
_unduly restrictive of the citizen's rights. On the effect of regulatory
measures in so far as they pertain to inter-State trade and commerce B
and the recognition of the limits of the ·power to prohibit or regulate, a
learned author refers to the American view thus:

"The American Supreme Court has tended to display
a more restrictive attitude toward local measures, even
where justified by bona fide health objectives, if the laws or C
regulations have been drawn so broadly as to subject inter-
state food traders to an unnecessarily heavy burden. Grant-
ing that a stage has reserved power to protect the health of
its community, even though the local regulation may inci-
dentally affect interstate commerce, the Court has posed
the question of degree: can the local interest be· safe- D
guarded with less burden on interstate commerce?"

(See Interstate barriers in India and American C011'stitu'
tional Experience: Lawrence F. Fbb: Stanford Law Review
- Vol. II 1958-59)
E
4. The Notification dated 27 .10. 1989 promulgated under Section
3 of the Act, inter alia, restricts the import into India of "any plant".
The expression "plant" is defined in clause (i) of para 2 of the Notifica-
tion to mean any plant or part thereof whether living or dead, trees,
shurbs, nursery-stock and includes all vegetatively propagated mate-
rials. The timber logs of the kind concerned in the present case fall F
within this definition. That they are potential carriers of "insects,
fungus or other pests" is not disputed. It is, however, contended that
since after their import, the timber logs are not likely to come into
contact with any crop or plant but are directly removed to the factory
. where plywood is manufactured there is no possibility of the insects or
the fungus or the pests in them infecting any plant. The object of the G
law is to protect plant-life in India from such alien insects, fungus, and
pests which might be introduced into the country through imported
articles contaminated with them or carried by them. This object i's·
sought to be achieved by preventing the entry into the soil of India of
·--< such potential carriers. The question whether after such import the
insects, fungus, or pests actually infect plant-life or not is not the H
12 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [ 1990] Supp. 3 S.C.R.

A decisive factor. The very existence of a possibility of such infection is
sufficient justification. The main purpose is to prevent their very entry
into India. The need for treatment and the like envisaged in the notifi-
cation rightly pre-supposes the potentiality of the timber logs for carry-
ing those insects and pests.
B
There is n.o substance in the contention advanced by the peti-
tioner that the purpose for which the timber logs are imported must
de~ide the question whether the restriction should apply or not. The
purpose for which they have been imported is really irrelevant.

5. Accordingly, this Special Leave Petition is dismissed.
c
6. Learned counsel for the petitioner, however, contended that
the quantum of the fee levied is so disproportionately high, the extent
and the severity of the regulations are so unreasonable and the proce-
dure so arbitrary and combursome as to amount to an unreasonable
D restriction on the petitioner's rights and are unrelated to the objectives
to be achieved. These contentions have not been specifically taken and
appcopriate grounds urged in the writ petition. However, petitioner is
at liberty to take up these pleas, for whatever they are worth, m
appropriate proceedings.

V.P.R. Petition dismissed.

-·

I