In Brief
Milk producer companies challenged a 1994 government notification that included ghee as a regulated livestock product subject to market fees. The appellants argued ghee is not a livestock product and the notification violated procedural rules. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's 2:1 majority decision. The Court held that ghee, though derived from milk through processing, remains a livestock product for regulation and fee purposes. The 1994 notification was issued under Section 4 (which regulates already-notified products) rather than Section 3 (which creates new notified areas), and Section 4 does not require the procedural safeguards of Section 3. Appellants having used market facilities are liable for accumulated fees from 1994 to 2009, payable in four equal instalments over two years.
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