CANTONMENT BOARD DEHU ROAD Vs. MAHINDRA OWEN LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE appeals which have been filed on the strength of a certificate dt. Sept. 14, 1971 granted by the High Court of Bombay under Art 133(1)(a) and (c) of the Constitution as it then stood, are directed against the judgment of the High Court of Bombay dt. Nov. 23, 1970 dismissing a batch of Writ Petitions filed by the appellants herein challenging the order dt. 23/05/1969 passed by the District Magistrate, Poone setting aside the notices of demand of Octroi Duty issued by the appellants to the first respondent company.

(2.) THE first appellant herein is the Cantonment Board, Dehu Road and the second appellant is its Executive Officer. THE first respondent is a public limited company manufacturing trailers and water tankers at its factory at Pimpri in the District of Poone. THE first respondent had submitted tenders to the Defence Department of the Union of India for the manufacture and supply of trailers and water tankers. Pursuant to the acceptance of those tenders, the first respondent .manufactured and sold to the. Union of India different quantities of 100 C.W.D. and 10 C.W.D. trailers and two-wheeled water tankers. Under the terms of the contract the ownership passed to the Government of India on inspection of the goods at the first respondent's factory premises at Pimpri and appropriation thereof to the contract consequent on approval of the goods but delivery was to be effected by the first respondent-company free of charge within the Cantonment limits of Dehu Road Accordingly, by June-July 1965, 8,953 trailers, water tankers were delivered by the first respondent-company within the limits of the Cantonment Board. THEreafter, 682 more such trailers/water tankers were also delivered by the first respondent-company to the Defence Authorities within the Dehu Road Cantonment limits during 1965 and 1966.

(3.) THE first respondent-company thereafter preferred appeals before the District Magistrate, Poone. under S. 84 of the Cantonment Board's Act with a praye prayer for condonation of the delay in filing the appeals, THE District Magistrate granted the prayer for condonation of delay and by a very detailed order allowed the appeals holding that the trailers/water tankers manufactured and delivered by the fast respondent-company did not fall within the scope of any of the items enumerated in the 1st Schedule to the Notification authorising the levy of Octroi Duty and hence the action of the appellants in demanding the payment of Octroi Duty in respect of them was illegal. He accordingly, set aside the notices of demand and directed the appellants to refund the amount of Duty already collected from the first respondent-company.