Essential Commodities Act, 1955: Sections 1, 2 and 2A
Sections 1, 2 and 2A establish the territorial scope of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, define important expressions used in the Act, and explain how a commodity is treated as an "essential commodity" through the statutory Schedule.
Section 1 - Short title and extent
(1) This Act may be called the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.
(2) It extends to the whole of India.
Explanation: Section 1 gives the legislation its statutory name and provides for its territorial application throughout India.
Section 2 - Definitions
Section 2 provides definitions that apply throughout the Act unless the context requires otherwise. Important expressions include the following:
"Collector" includes an Additional Collector and another officer not below the rank of Sub-Divisional Officer who is authorised by the Collector to perform functions and exercise powers of the Collector under the Act.
"Food-crops" include crops of sugarcane.
"Notified order" means an order notified in the Official Gazette.
"Order" includes a direction issued under an order.
"State Government", in relation to a Union territory, means its administrator.
"Sugar" includes any form of sugar containing more than ninety per cent sucrose, including sugar candy; khandsari sugar, bura sugar, crushed sugar and sugar in crystalline or powdered form; and sugar in process in a vacuum pan sugar factory or raw sugar produced there.
Section 2A - Essential commodities declaration, etc.
Section 2A links the statutory meaning of an essential commodity to the commodities specified in the Schedule to the Act.
Sub-section (1): For the purposes of the Act, "essential commodity" means a commodity specified in the Schedule.
Sub-section (2): Subject to sub-section (4), the Central Government may, when satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest and after recording reasons in a notification published in the Official Gazette, amend the Schedule by adding a commodity or removing a commodity, in consultation with the State Governments.
Sub-section (3): A notification under sub-section (2) may declare the period for which the commodity is to be treated as essential, initially not exceeding six months. The Central Government may extend that period in the public interest, for reasons specified by notification in the Official Gazette.
Sub-section (4): The Central Government may exercise the power under sub-section (2) in respect of commodities on which Parliament has legislative power by virtue of Entry 33 of List III in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution.
Sub-section (5): Every notification under sub-section (2) must be laid before both Houses of Parliament as soon as may be after it is issued.
What commodities are covered by the Schedule?
The Schedule is central to Section 2A because a commodity falls within the statutory definition of "essential commodity" when it is specified there. The official consolidated text should be checked for the current Schedule and for any operative notifications affecting particular commodities.
Legislative notes
The definition of "Collector" was inserted by Act 92 of 1976. The former clause (a) of Section 2 was omitted by Act 54 of 2006. The definitions relating to "order" and "sugar" were inserted by Act 36 of 1967. Section 2A was inserted by Act 54 of 2006 with effect from 12 February 2007.
The words that had excluded the State of Jammu and Kashmir from Section 1(2) were omitted in 1968; the provision therefore states that the Act extends to the whole of India.