DURGA OIL COMPANY Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) This appeal by grant of Special Leave is directed against the judgment dated 2nd September, 1997, of the Allahabad High Court in Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 28539 of 1997. The Writ Petition had been filed by the appellant challenging the order dated 14th August, 1997 passed by the District Supply Officer, Shahjahanpur calling upon the appellant to stop using the underground tank and dispensing pump unit inter alia on the ground that there is no embargo either under the provisions of the Petroleum Act and the Rules framed thereunder or in the licence in Form XI which had been granted to the appellant under the Petroleum Rules not to sell High Speed Diesel by using the underground tank and the pump unit attached to the same. The High Court by the impugned judgment considered the different provisions of the Act and the Rules as well as the Forms, more particularly, Forms XI and XII and came to hold that a licensee under Form XI is not entitled to store High Speed Diesel in an underground tank and sale from the same by using a pump unit. With the aforesaid conclusion the Writ Application having been dismissed the appellant has preferred the present appeal.

(3.) Mr. Sudhir Chandra, the learned senior counsel appearing for the appellant contends that an analysis of the relevant provisions of the Act and the Rules will make it crystal clear that there is no prohibition contained in the licence form, Form XI granted to the appellant from selling High Speed Diesel from the underground tank with a hand unit attached to the same and the High Court committed serious error in arriving at a conclusion that the licence under Form XI does not authorise the licensee to sell High Speed Diesel from an underground tank with a hand unit attached to the same. In order to appreciate the correctness of the aforesaid submissions it would be necessary to examine the relevant provisions of the Act and the Rules framed thereunder.