BRIJ FERTILIZERS PVT LTD Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) 07.09.2010 Originally this writ petition was filed by the eight Petitioners seeking the release of the subsidy on the sale of Single Super Phosphate (SSP.), being provided by the Government of India, Ministry of Fertilisers and Chemicals (MoFC.) on the sale of SSP in terms of the revised Scheme dated 10th June 1994. The grievance of the Petitioners was that on account of an order dated 28th September 2001 issued by the MoFC, the units were categorised in A, B and C categories arbitrarily and the release of subsidy to category C units, like the Petitioners, was postponed till the completion of the adjudication of the legal proceedings pending against them. Accordingly, the Petitioners also challenged the validity of the aforementioned order dated 28th September 2001.

(2.) On 16th December 2005, a learned Single Judge of this Court relied on the order dated 28th October 2005 passed in another writ petition being Writ Petition (Civil) 20884 of 2005 (Vijay Fertilisers Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India) and dismissed the petition. None appeared for the Petitioner on that date. When an application was filed for restoration of the writ petition on the ground that the present petition was not covered by the decision in Vijay Fertilisers Pvt. Ltd, the learned Single Judge dismissed the application observing that the remedy for the Petitioners was to file an appeal. It may be mentioned at this stage that the application for restoration was filed only on behalf of Petitioner Nos. 1 and 8. Thereafter, these two parties filed LPA Nos. 979-980 of 2006. By an order dated 28th April 2009, a Division Bench of this Court allowed the appeals and remanded the writ petition to this Court for adjudication on merits. Effectively, therefore, the writ petition was reserved for hearing at the instance of only two of the Petitioners.

(3.) Mr. Kaushal Yadav, learned counsel at the outset informed this Court that he is appearing only on behalf of Petitioner No. 1 Brij Fertilisers Pvt. Ltd. None has appeared for Petitioner No.8.