Apar Private Ltd. and Another Vs. Union of India and Others

Apar Private Ltd. and Another vs Union of India and Others

Type Court Judgment Court Mumbai Decided Sep 29, 1981

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Citation: sooperkanoon.com/345584
Court: Mumbai High Court
Judge: M.L. Pendse, J.
Decided On: Sep 29, 1981
Case Number: Misc. Petition No. 908 of 1975
Subject: Excise

Case Summary

AI-generated summary - not the official court judgment text.

Writ - Petition dismissed for serious laches. Constitution of India. Art. 226. - Section 3: [S.B. Mhase, D.S. Bhosale & A.S. Oka, JJ] Offences of atrocities - Complaint under Held, Merely because the caste of the accused is not mentioned in the FIR stating whether he belongs to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, ...

Key legal issue: Excise
Acts & sections: Constitution of India - Article 226; Central Excise Rules - Rule 56-A

Parties & Advocates

Appellant / Petitioner

Apar Private Ltd. and Another

Respondent

Union of India and Others

Legal References

Acts: Constitution of India - Article 226; Central Excise Rules - Rule 56-A
Reported In: 1989(24)LC749(Bombay); 1982(10)ELT364(Bom)

Excerpt

writ - petition dismissed for serious laches. constitution of india. art. 226. - section 3: [s.b. mhase, d.s. bhosale & a.s. oka, jj] offences of atrocities - complaint under held, merely because the caste of the accused is not mentioned in the fir stating whether he belongs to scheduled caste or scheduled tribe, it cannot be a ground for quashing the complaint. after ascertaining the facts during he course of investigation it is always open to the investigating officer to record tht the accused either belongs to or does not belongs to schedule caste or scheduled tribe. after final opinion is formed, it is open to the court to either accept the same or take cognizance. even if the charge sheet is filed at the time of consideration of the charge, it si open to the accused to bring to the notice of the court that the materials do not show that the accused does not belong to scheduled caste or scheduled tribe. even if charge is framed at the time of trial materials can be placed to show that the accused either belongs to or does not belong to scheduled caste or scheduled tribe. even if charge is frame d at the time of trial materials can be placed to show that the accused either belongs to or does not belong to scheduled caste or scheduled tribe. it is not a requirement und4r section 3 of the atrocities act that the complainant should disclose the caste of the accused in the complaint. in other words, if there is no mention of the caste of the accused in the fir, that cannot be a ground for either not registering the offence under section 3 of the act or for quashing such complaint - it is now well-settled that the remedy under article 226 of the constitution is available provided the litigant takes steps expeditiously and is not guilty of laches.1. the petitioner is a private limited company and is carrying on business of manufacturing of aluminium rods, aluminium wires, aluminium conductors etc. the factory of petitioner no. 1 consists of two divisions : (1) manufacturing aluminium rods which are excisable goods falling under tariff item no. 27 and (2) manufacturing aluminium cables excisable under tariff item no. 33b.2. the petitioners addressed a letter dated november 24, 1971 to the assistant collector of central excise claiming advantage of proforma credit of the duty paid paid under rule 56-a of the central excise rules. the petitioners claimed that the scrap obtained from the processing of aluminium rods into conductors of cables will be re-used in the manufacture of aluminium rods and as duty has already been paid under item no. 27-a(2), the advantage of rule 56-a is available.3. the assistant collector, by his order dated november 13, 1972 turned down the claim of the petitioners and that order was confirmed in appeal by the appellate collector of central excise by order dated september 3, 1973. the petitioners carried revision before the central government, ministry of finance, but that ended in dismissal by an order dated july 15, 1974. the petitioners have, thereafter, filed this petition in this court on august 12, 1975.4. shri dhanuka, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respondents, has raised a preliminary objection to the maintainability of the petition on the ground that the petitioners have committed serious laches in approaching this court and prosecuting this petition. shri dhanuka urges that the revisional authority passed the order on july 15, 1974, while the petitioners filed the present petition one year thereafter on august 12, 1975 and there is no explanation as to why the petitioners did not approach this court earlier. shri dhanuka also complains that though the petition was lodged in this court in august 1975, the petitioners took no steps to get it placed before.....

Full Judgment

1. The petitioner is a Private Limited Company and is carrying on business of manufacturing of aluminium rods, aluminium wires, aluminium conductors etc. The factory of petitioner No. 1 consists of two Divisions : (1) manufacturing aluminium rods which are excisable goods falling under Tariff Item No. 27 and (2) manufacturing aluminium cables excisable under Tariff Item No. 33B.

2. The petitioners addressed a letter dated November 24, 1971 to the Assistant Collector of Central Excise claiming advantage of proforma credit of the duty paid paid under Rule 56-A of the Central Excise Rules. The petitioners claimed that the scrap obtained from the processing of aluminium rods into conductors of cables will be re-used in the manufacture of aluminium rods and as duty has already been paid under Item No. 27-A(2), the advantage of Rule 56-A is available.

3. The Assistant Collector, by his order dated November 13, 1972 turned down the claim of the petitioners and that order was confirmed in appeal by the appellate Collector of Central Excise by order dated September 3, 1973. The petitioners carried revision before the Central Government, Ministry of Finance, but that ended in dismissal by an order dated July 15, 1974. The petitioners have, thereafter, filed this petition in this Court on August 12, 1975.

4. Shri Dhanuka, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respondents, has raised a preliminary objection to the maintainability of the petition on the ground that the petitioners have committed serious laches in approaching this Court and prosecuting this petition. Shri Dhanuka urges that the revisional authority passed the order on July 15, 1974, while the petitioners filed the present petition one year thereafter on August 12, 1975 and there is no explanation as to why the petitioners did not approach this Court earlier. Shri Dhanuka also complains that though the petition was lodged in this Court in August 1975, the petitioners took no steps to get it placed before the Court for admission till June 30, 1980. The learned counsel is right in his submission that the petitioners were not serious in prosecuting the petition because not only it was lodged one year after the orders, but it was taken for admission five years thereafter. It is now well-settled that the remedy under Article 226 of the Constitution is available provided the litigant takes steps expeditiously and is not guilty of laches. In the present case, it is obvious that the petitioners were not serious about prosecuting this remedy probably because the factory itself was closed down from the year 1977 onwards. In these circumstances, in my judgment, the preliminary objection of Shri Dhanuka that no relief should be granted under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is required to be upheld. As I am disposing of the petition on the preliminary objection, it is not necessary to consider the submission of Shri Dhanuka that even on merits, the impugned order is correct.

5. Accordingly, the petition fails and the rule is discharged but as the factory of the petitioners is already closed in the year 1977, there will be no order as to costs.

Same Court & Year Mumbai · 1981 Same Parties Apar Private Ltd. and Another vs Union of India and Others Same Subject Excise Same Judge M.L. Pendse, J. Acts & Sections Constitution of India - Article 226; Central Excise Rules - R...

Excise