Mandatory duration for regulatory directions: indefinite textile prohibition held inconsistent with the control scheme and ultra vires.

Under clause 20 of the Cotton Textiles (Control) Order, 1948, the Textile Commissioner's power to issue directions prohibiting manufacture or use of specified cloth or yarn was construed as requiring the period of operation to be stated. The word "may" in the enabling provision was read, in context, as carrying a mandatory duty where periodic review was built into the control scheme and affected persons needed certainty about duration. An indefinite prohibition was treated as inconsistent with that scheme and ultra vires clause 20; the impugned notification was ineffective to that extent.

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Issues: Whether, under clause 20 of the Cotton Textiles (Control) Order, 1948, the Textile Commissioner was bound to specify the period for which a direction prohibiting manufacture or use of particular cloth or yarn would remain operative.

Analysis: The power to issue directions under clause 20 was held to be coupled with a duty to indicate the period of operation. The expression "may" in the empowering provision was construed in context as imposing an obligation where the effective exercise of the power required periodic review and where persons affected by the direction needed certainty as to its duration. A direction left indefinite could continue beyond the need that justified it and would frustrate the scheme of control, which contemplated review from time to time.

Conclusion: The Textile Commissioner was required to specify the period during which such directions would remain in force, and an indefinite prohibition was ultra vires clause 20.

Final Conclusion: The impugned notification failed to the extent that it imposed an indefinite prohibition, and the appeals were dismissed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statutory power to issue regulatory directions is coupled with the need for periodic review and the rights of affected persons require certainty, the enabling word "may" may be construed as imposing a mandatory duty to specify the duration of the direction.

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