SHATSTTA PRASAD Vs. COLLECTOR, NAINITAL AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ON March 18, 1974, the Collector, Nainital, and the District Excise Officer, Nainital held an auction inter alia, for the settlement of country liquor shops of Bazpur, Jaspur and Gadarpur in the district of Nainital, for the financial year 1974-75. The petitioner's bid of Rs. 8,00,000/- for these three shops was the highest. That bid was noted down in the bid sheet which was signed by the petitioner. It is not disputed that the petitioner, did not sign nor was he required to sign the relevant entry in the settlement record in Form G-14. The petitioner did not deposit the l|6th amount of the bid. The shops of these three places were settled temporarily with some other person and ultimately on April 22, 1974, they were settled permanently for the year in question for a sum of Rs. 5,50,000/-. There was a deficiency of Rs, 2,19,016-30, being the difference between the petitioner's highest bid of Rs. 8,00,000/ - and the amount for which the shop was settled with other person temporarily. The authorities demanded the payment of this deficiency from the petitioner. The petitioner challenges the vali­dity of the demand and also the threat to realise this deficiency as an arrear of land revenue.

(2.) LEARNED counsel submitted before us that in view of the statu­tory rules the petitioner never became the auction-purchaser. He; was hence neither liable to deposit the security nor pay the defici­ency for the short fall. Rule 373 of the Excise Manual lays down the conditions which are to apply to all sales by auction, Rules 374 lays down the general rules, which are to be followed, for conduct­ing excise sales. Sub-rule (5) of Rule 374 provides: -

(3.) FOR the respondents, it has been urged that the question of pre­paring the record in Form G-14 and obtaining the signature of the auction-purchaser would arise only after he has made the deposit of l|6th of the bid as security. We are unable to agree. In Form G-14, there is no column for either the date of the deposit of l|6th of the bid or indicating that this amount has to be deposited prior to the acceptance of the person as the auction-purchaser. A reading of sub-rule 6(ii) shows that the occasion to deposit the l|6th of the bid would arise only after the event of acceptance of the bidder as an auction-purchasier has taken place. Then, on the same day, he is re­quired to deposit l|6th of the annual fee under sub-rule (6) of Rule 373.