Government of the tobacco industry. Measures envisaged include regulation of production and curing of virginia tobacco to ensure that growers get fair and remunerative price for the commodity, improvement of existing markets, establishment of auction platform for sale of virginia tobacco by registered growers or curers and regulation in other respects of marketing of virginia tobacco etc. Learned Standing counsel, therefore, submits that in pursuance of the said power, various rules and regulations are there and Section 13-A of the Act imposes a mandatory obligation that no registered dealer or registered exporter shall purchase or cause to purchase virginia tobacco elsewhere than at an auction platform registered with the Board in accordance with the Rules or from any person other than any registered dealer or grower or curer. Learned Standing counsel, therefore, submits that if the seized tobacco being prima facie found to be violative of Section 13-A, the Board is empowered, under its general powers under Section 8, to seize the tobacco from the petitioner. Learned Standing counsel also placed reliance upon the guidelines under which procedure to be followed by vigilance squad officer on interception of a vehicle carrying illegally purchased tobacco are laid down in the booklet. Learned Standing counsel says that not only the petitioner’s aforesaid stock in the lorries was seized under a panchanama, the weighment of the bales was also recorded. The original file containing the panchanama and the weighment record was also produced for our perusal.
