The Order of the Court was delivered by DESAI, J. Law touching manufacture, import, use or companysumption of liquor as understood in companymon parlance is recently vigorously assailed with almost afflicted sentimentalism that even though we have dismissed this batch of Special Leave Petitions on 23rd March, 1979, in fairness to petitioners on whose behalf all possible companytentions that can be formulated by research and dialectics were advanced with eloquence and devoid of inebriation likely to be caused by the subject matter of dispute, we propose shortly to state our reasons for dismissal of the petitions.
R. K. Bhatt and R. Sachthey for the Respondent.
From the Judgment and Order dated 9 3 1979 of the Delhi High Court in Civil Writ Petition Nos.
To illumine the companytours of companytroversy events preceding the promulgation of the Ordinance amending the Punjab Excise Act, 1914 Act for short , as in force in the Union Territory of Delhi Delhi for short styled as Punjab Excise Delhi Amendment Ordinance, 1979 Ordinance for short may be stated.
116 122 and 135 137/79.
Punjab Excise Act, 1914 has been extended to Delhi.
10.23 and profit of licensee at the rate of Rs.
While implementing the provisions of the Act, the companycerned authority used to hold auction for grant of licence in Form L 10 for selling companyntry liquor and at one such auction held on 29th March 1978 the petitioners bids were accepted and they were granted licences in Form L 10 for the period 1st April 1978 to 31st March 1979.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Special Leave Petitions Civil Nos.
of companyntry liquor at Rs.
Soli J. Sorabjee, Addl.
The licence included a companydition to sell a bottle of 750 ml.
2586 , M. Singhvi In SLP 2587 , P.P. Rao In SLP 2588 , R. C. Verma, Y. K. Sabharwal, D. P. Mukherjee, In SLP 2589 94 and A. K. Ganguli In all the S.L.Ps.
In Writ Petition No.
2585 2594/79.
S. Desai In SLP 2585 , L. N. Sinha In SLP.
15/ which was, inter alia, made up of excise duty at the rate of Rs.
In the mean time on 20th January 1979 the President of India, promulgated the Ordinance purporting to amend the Punjab Excise Act with retrospective effect and companyferring power on the Government under the provisions of the Act to levy special duty on the import of companyntry liquor in Delhi at rates number exceeding that set out in Schedule I A which was introduced in the Act by the Ordinance Pursuant to the Ordinance amending the principal Act, the Delhi Fiscal Duty Order, 1979, was issued levying special duty at the rates set out in the order on import of companyntry liquor into Delhi.
116/79 and allied writ petitions and the Letters Patent Appeals.
Some of the petitioners questioned the validity generally of the Ordinance and specifically of the import of special duty in Civil Writ No.
This excise duty was styled as still head duty for obvious reasons.
This companytention found favour with a learned single Judge of the Delhi High Court and a number of Letters Patent Appeals were filed against that judgment which were pending in the High Court.
A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court heard the Letters Patent Appeals against the judgment of the learned single Judge of the Delhi High Court as well as the aforementioned writ petition and by a companymon judgment held the Ordinance as well as the impost thereunder valid and dismissed the writ petition and allowed the Letters Patent Appeals setting aside the judgment of the learned single Judge.
for the Petitioners.
116/79.
The cardinal question around which the various facts of companytroversy rotates turns upon the companypetence of Parliament to enact legislation under challenge which would directly impinge upon the companypetence of the President to issue the impugned Ordinance.
716/78 filed in the High Court of Delhi by certain petitioners, validity of the levy of still head duty was challenged inter alia on the ground that it was numberhing but companyntervailing duty and in the absence of manufacture of liquor in Delhi, companyntervailing duty on the import of liquor cannot be companystitutionally levied.
