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Under Article 301, 'trade, commerce and intercourse throughout the territory of India shall be free'. In which case did the Supreme Court hold that only laws which 'directly and immediately' restrict or impede the freedom of trade and commerce fall within Article 301?
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D.
1. **Atiabari Tea Co. v. State of Assam, AIR 1951 SC 232** was the very first Supreme Court case on the scope of Article 301.
2. The Court held that only those laws which **'directly and immediately'** restrict or impede the freedom of trade and commerce are covered by Article 301; laws which only indirectly or incidentally affect that freedom are not.
3. *Automobile Transport v. State of Rajasthan* later refined this by holding that regulatory laws facilitating trade, and compensatory taxes, are saved from Article 301.
4. *Khyerbari Tea* expressed doubt about the compensatory-tax holding; *RMDC* held that gambling is not 'trade' under Article 301.
_Source: ICSI CS Executive — Lesson 2, 'Freedom of Trade, Commerce and Intercourse', p. 67._
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