HYDERABAD CHEMICAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL WORKS LIMITED BRIGHT CHEMICALS AND PHARMACEUTICALS SHETTYS PHARMACEUTICALS AND BIOLOGICALS LIMITED NATH LABORATORIES BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTS PRIVATE LIMITED Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These are five connected appeals on certificates granted by the High Court of Andhra Pradesh. They involve a common question of law and will be dealt with together. The brief facts necessary to understand the question of law raised in these appeals are these. The appellants manufacture medicines in which they have to use alcohol. Before Parliament passed the Medicinal and Toilet Preparations (Excise Duties) Act, No. 16 of 1955, (hereinafter referred to as the Act), the appellants were working under licences granted under the Hyderabad Abkari Act, No. 1 of 1316-F. Under that Act certain rule called the Medicinal Preparations and Spirituous Rules, 1345-F were framed and R. 36 thereof provided that "the expenses of the establishment for the supervision of the work shall be borne by the pharmaceutical laboratory (licensee) as per the decision of the Commissioner Excise". It appears that for the manufacture of medicines, the appellants used to be supplied with alcohol. Further the State Government posted on the bonded manufactories of the appellants certain supervisory excise staff, and R. 36 was obviously framed to re-imburse the Government for expenses incurred in that behalf. After the Act came into force from April 1, 1957, the appellants who were manufacturing medicinal preparations were governed by it and the Rules framed thereunder and took licences under the Act. The appellants then contended that as the Act had repealed all previous provisions with respect to medicinal preparations, they were no longer bound to pay the charges prescribed under R. 36 of the 1345-F Rules. Their contention was that this rule along with such provisions of the Hyderabad Abkari Act, which concerned medicinal preparations were repealed by the Act and the Rules framed thereunder. The State Government could therefore no longer ask them to pay the costs of the establishment posted at their bonded manufactories for supervision. The State Government however insisted on the payment of the charges. The appellants thereupon filed writ petitions in the High Court challenging the levy of these charges.

(2.) The petitions were opposed on behalf of the State and its contention was that even though the Act and the Rules framed thereunder had come into force from April 1, 1957, R. 36 of the 1345-F Rules continued and was not repealed by the Act and the Rules framed thereunder, and the State was entitled to the expenses of the supervisory staff and could realise it from the appellants.

(3.) The High Court held that R. 36 could not be said to have been repealed by the Act and the Rules framed thereunder and was still good law. In this connection the High Court pointed out that the Hyderabad Abkari Act was not concerned only with medicinal preparations but was a general Act dealing with excise including alcohol, and that alcohol in the ultimate analysis was liquor; therefore the State Government which supplied alcohol to the appellants for the purpose of making medicinal and toilet preparations for which no duty was paid was entitled to see that the alcohol was not used for purposes other than that for which it was supplied to the appellants. Accordingly the High Court held that R. 36 of the 1345-F Rules was designed to achieve this object, under the general law of excise contained in the Hyderabad Abkari Act, and was therefore good. In consequence the writ petitions were dismissed. The appellants then applied for certificates to appeal to this Court, which were granted; and that is how the matter has come up before us.