The essential commodities act 1955 is an act which was legislated back in 1955 when the country depended on foreign country imports for basic goods like wheat. There was a high possibility of hoarding of these commodities and so in order to stop accumulation and black marketing of these products the essential commodities act 1955 was brought up. It empowered the government to take decisions regarding the production, supply and distribution of the good and also regulate and decide the stock limit of the essential commodities.

Scope

The Act was enacted on February 12^th, 1980, and there are provisions and punishments for persons who commit black marketing or hoarding.

• The Act empowers the state government and central government or an official representative to detain individuals or groups committing black marketing or hoarding.
• The Act empowers district magistrates as well as the commissioner of police to take legal action against offenders.

The Objectives of the Act

The objectives of the act are to provide for the control of
(i) Production
(ii) Supply
(iii) Distribution of trade commerce in certain commodities, in the interest of general public

Definition Section 2

The section 2 of this Act defines important terminologies used under the Act. What constitute essential commodities:
The phrase “essential Commodity” as per the Act means any of the following commodities (S-2(a)
(i) Cattle fodder, including oilcakes and other concentrates
(ii) Coal, including cake and other derivatives;
(iii) Component parts and accessories of automobiles.
(iv) Cotton and woolen textiles
(v) Drugs food stuffs, including edible oilseeds and oils.
(vi) Iron and steel, including manufactured products of iron and steel.
(vii) Paper including newsprints, paper board and straw board.
(viii) Petroleum and petroleum products
(xi) Raw cotton, whether ginned or unginned, and cotton seed.
(x) Raw jute
(xi) Any other class of commodity, the central government may notify from time to time.
As per the act. food crops includes crops of sugarcane. Sugar means any form of sugar containing more than 90 percent of sucrose, including sugar candy, khandsari or any sugar crystalline or powdered form

The power of central government to make regulation

The regulation that the central government can make may include the following:
(1) By way of grant of license and permits, either for the production and manufacture of goods or for storage, transport and distribution of goods, disposal, acquisition of essential commodities etc.
(2) For bringing under cultivation any waste or arable land;
(3) For controlling the price at which the essential commodity may be bought or sold;
(4) For prohibiting the withholding from sale of any essential commodity, ordinarily kept for sale;
(5) For regulating or prohibiting any class of commercial or financial transactions relating to food stuffs or cotton textiles which, in the opinion of the authority making order, are, if unregulated are, likely to be, detrimental to the public interest etc.

Imposition of duties on state government (Section 4)

As per section 4, The central government has been authorized to:
(1) Confer powers and impose duties upon the
(a) State government or
(b) Officers or authorities of central government or state government &
(2) Issue directions to the state government or officers or authorities thereof as to the exercise of powers or the discharge of any duties.

Punishment for Violating the Act

Offenders will be put on trial under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (10 of 1955) or any other as mentioned for the wrongful act. The trail shall be executed by a special court or a special designated court, and all offences under the Act are non-bailable. Any person or organisation found guilty of violating the act will lead to the detention of the business following with a jail term for the individual.

Absconding or Avoiding the Order

Any individual absconding or avoiding the order should be reported to the Metropolitan or Judicial magistrate. The punishment shall be implemented under 82, 83, 84 and 85 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. If proven guilty after the examination of records and books, a jail term up to a year will be handed out for minor offences. For major offences, the jail term can be extended up to seven years with fine or both.

Burden of proof in certain cases (Section 14)

Under this Act, it is said that the burden of proof shall always lie upon the person who possesses any essential commodity without having any lawful authority or permit or license.

Prosecution of action taken under the Act (Section 15)

This section provides that no prosecution or proceeding shall be instituted against the person who acted in good faith or in pursuance of the order made under Section 3.

Offences by the company (Section10)

When the above offences are committed by any company. Then every person who is in charge or responsible for the conduct and business of the company is held guilty for the offences and is liable for the punishment. For the purpose of this Section, the term ‘company’ generally includes a body corporate, a firm, or any other association of individuals.

Penalties (Section 7)

There are different kinds of penalties imposed upon different kinds of offences. 

OFFENCES	PENALTIES
Contravene the  order made under clause (h) and (i) of the Sub Section (2)	Imprisonment for a term which may extend to 1 year with fine
Contravene the other orders except above two.	Imprisonment not less than 3 months which may extend up to 7 years with fine
Fails to comply with the direction given under clause (b) of Sub-section (4)	Imprisonment not less than 3 months which may extend up to 7 years with fine
If any person convicted for offences under Section Sub-clause (ii) of clause (a) of Sub-section (1) or under Sub-section (2)  again convicted on the same provision	Imprisonment not less than 6 months which may extend up to 7 years with fine
If the offences convicted under Sub-clause (ii) of clause (a) of Sub-section (1) or under Sub-section (2)  does not cause any substantial harm to any individual or the general public.	Imprisonment for the term of 3 months or 6  months whichever is required as per the case

However, it is provided that when any person liable for punishment successfully proved that the contravention has been taken place without his knowledge and he exercised due diligence at the time of contravention to prevent it then he would not become liable for any punishment for such offence.

State of Bombay v. Virkumar Gulab Chand Shah AIR 1952 SC335, In this case, it was established that the foodstuff includes raw material, things used in the process and things used in the preparation of food. Therefore, turmeric has been included in the scope of foodstuff.

S.Samuel, M.D., Harrisons v. Union of India 2004 SSC 256, In this case,it was decided that tea is not a foodstuff and merely a stimulant. It neither used in the preparation of food nor contains any nutritional value, however in general parlance also when a person takes tea doesn’t consider it as having food.

Conclusion

The Essential Commodities Act,1955 is one of the important laws of the country that applies for the protection of the interest of the general public. Under this Act, the Central Government possesses a wide range of powers to control the production and supply of essential commodities. Under this Act, the Central Government controls the price of the confiscated or seized essential commodities. All these powers are necessary to maintain the market.

However,the government can regulate these agricultural foodstuffs at times of war or any other calamity. This will ensure private as well as foreign investments in the agricultural sectors. There is a possibility of introduction of new technologies in the cold storage’s and food supply chain. There is a possibility that the governments aim to double the farmers income by 2022 might be possible because of the investment in the cold storage and the agriculture sector.