VED KAPOOR Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) M/S. Hitkari China Limited (for short "the Company"), in which the petitioner before this Court claims to be a Director till 9.4.2005, applied to the Joint Director General, Foreign Trade (for short "JDGFT") on 8.5.1997, for grant of advance licence for import of certain goods. An advance licence dated 28.8.1997 was issued to the Company allowing import to the extent of CIF value of Rs.50,38,267/- (US$ 139952/-), subject to the condition that the Company would fulfill export obligations for Rs.1,24,25,099/- within eighteen (18) months from the date of issue of the said licence. The goods imported against the said licence were to be utilized in accordance with the provisions of export and import policy and custom notification Nos.30/97 & 31/97 both dated 1.4.1997 as amended from time to time.

(2.) The aforesaid Company, however, did not honour the export obligations subject to fulfillment of which the import licence was issued. A show cause notice dated 17.3.2004 was then issued to the Company requiring it to furnish documents mentioned in the said notice, which primarily would be the documents evidencing fulfillment of the export obligations attached with the advance licence and intimating that in case it failed to furnish any of the documents mentioned in the notice, it should show cause as to why action should not be taken against it inter alia to declare it as a defaulter in fulfillment of export obligations. The aforesaid notice was followed by identical notices dated 21.7.2005 and 12.2.2008. Vide order dated 28.3.2008, the aforesaid Company was declared defaulter in non-fulfillment of export obligations against the advance licence dated 28.8.1997 and the concerned Section was instructed not to allow four (4) Directors of the Company namely, Ved Kapoor, K.P. Kapoor, Satish Mathautra and Jaiwant Bery, to avail of licence of any category and any other benefit under the Exim Policy. The aforesaid order was followed by an adjudication order dated 31.5.2010 whereby a penalty of Rs.2,51,81,335/- was imposed upon the Company along with interest @ 15 per cent per annum from the date of the first import bill, till payment to the Government.

(3.) Since the amount of penalty was not paid, a recovery notice dated 22.11.2010 was sent to the Government of NCT of Delhi for recovery of the aforesaid amount from the defaulting Company and/or its Directors namely, Ved Kapoor, K.P. Kapoor, Satish Mathautra and Jaiwant Bery, as arrears of land revenue. Based upon the recovery notice sent to the Government of NCT of Delhi, the Assistant Collector first, issued a notice dated 16.12.2010 to the aforesaid four (4) persons namely, Ved Kapoor, K.P. Kapoor, Satish Mathautra and Jaiwant Bery, requiring them to deposit the amount of Rs.2,51,81,335/-. Being aggrieved from the said notice, WP (C) No.168/2011 was filed by Shri Ved Kapoor, one of the four (4) persons to whom the said notice dated 16.12.2010 was addressed, seeking quashing of the notice and other proceedings that might have been initiated against him. When counter affidavit in WP (C) No.168/2011 was filed by the respondents, bringing the facts as stated hereinabove to the notice of the Court, WP (C) No.7725/2011 was filed by him impugning the defaulter order dated 28.3.2008 and adjudication order dated 31.5.2010.