BHATNAGARS AND COMPANY LIMITED MESSRS BHATNAGARS AND COMPANY LIMITED DILHI BHATNAGARS AND COMPANY LIMITED BHATNAGARS AND COMPANY PRIVATE LIMITED DELHI MESSRS BHATNAGARS AND COMPANY PRIVATE LIMITED Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a group of five petitions filed by the petitioners Messers Bhatnagars and Co. Private Ltd. In all these petitions, the petitioner Shri B.S. Bhatnagar, Managing Director of the above company, seeks to obtain appropriate writs from this Court mainly in respect of orders which have been passed by the Sea Customs Authorities against the petitioner. The petitioners - seems to feel a grievance that, in the matter of licences which had been issued to him for importing soda ash, he has not received a fair treatment from the appropriate authorities and, since the impunged orders were passed, he has been moving the high Court of Punjab and this Court by several petitions under the Constitution. The present petitions show obvious traces of unskilled draftsmanship. They are extremely diffused and in many places incoherent. Statements of fact are not logically or chronologically made and there is complete confusion in the narration of the story giving rise to the petitioner's claim. In several places, the petitions refer to facts which are both irrelevant and immaterial and, often enough, the petitioner is unable to restrain himself from making unjustified and irrelevant suggestions against the authorities. Even in regard to the claim ultimately made by the petitioner, it is not easy to find what exactly the petitioner's grievance is and what particular writ he seeks to obtain from this Court. However, since the petitions purport to invoke the jurisdiction of this Court substantially under Art. 32 of the Constitution, it is necessary to deal with the relevant points in disposing of these petitions.

(2.) Three of the petitions have been argued by Shri Bhatnagar in person. They are Petitions Nos. 423 and 164 of 1956 and No. 377 of 1955. Petitions Nos. 42 and 46 of 1956 have been argued by Shri Umrigar on behalf of the petitioner. The material facts which it is essential to mention are very few and they lie within a very narrow compass. It appears that the petitioner obtained a licence for the import of soda ash only worth about Rs. 50, 00,000 during the free licensing period in 1952. In pursuance of this licence, and relying on the same, consignments of soda ash to the extent of 100 tons, 200 tons and 20 tons respectively were received at Bombay; but meanwhile the Customs Authorities had received information that, though the petitioner had obtained a licence in his name for the import of soda ash for such a large amount as Rs. 50,00,000, his capital did not exceed Rs. 15,000 and that he was in fact trafficking in these licences. On receiving this report, investigation was made and subsequently the matter was left in charge of the Special Police Establishment. During the course of this investigation, certain documents were seized from the petitioner- company's office as well as from the office of one Messrs. N. Jivanlal and Co. at Bombay. The complaint made against the petitioner that he was trafficking in licences was confirmed by this investigation. It transpired that person carrying on business in the name of Messrs. N. Jivanlal and Co., had a free hand in dealing with the licences of the petitioner and that the petitioner used only to receive commission for the imports that he allowed to be made in the name of Messrs. Bhatnagars and Co. Ltd. In regard to the two consignments of 100 tons and 20 tons of soda ash respectively, it was found on an inspection of the documents that the same had been imported by Messrs. N. Jivanlal and Co., and since Messrs. N. Jivanlal and Co., held no licence, the consignments were seized by the Collector of Customs. The offices of the petitioner and Messrs. N. Jivanlal and Co., were raided during the course of this investigation on 7-11-11952 and 6-2-1953 respectively. The goods arrived in Bombay in March and April 1953 and they were confiscated by the Collector of Customs in May and June 1953. Subsequently, the documents including the licences which had been seized were returned to the petitioner. The confiscation of the goods was challenged by the petitioner by preferring an appeal to the Central Board of Revenue. The said appeal was, however, dismissed. The petitioner then moved the Central Government against this order but on 22-9-1955, the Central Government refused to interfere. It appears that on 31-3-1956, the Collector of Customs ordered that the goods should be auctioned. When this order was passed, the petitioner filed one of the petitions before us. He obtained an interim order of stay but the said order was ultimately vacated. Broadly stated, these are the facts which give rise to the present petitions.

(3.) Though five petitions have been presented by the petitioner, his grievance substantially is against the confiscation of the consignments of soda ash and against the seizure of his licences by the investigating authorities. Each petition seeks to put the grievance, of the petitioner in a different form and, though the prayers ultimately made are also not of the same pattern, in the main, the petitioner wants this Court to give him relief against what he regards as illegal so seizure of the goods and against the virtual invalidation of his licences for import. The period during which the licences granted to him could have been operated upon has expired and the petitioner, in one of his petitions, seeks an order from this Court directing the Government to revalidate the licences so as to allow the petitioner to import the article in question during the unexpired period of his licences.