ICE CREAM MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Sri Shailender Singh, learned counsel for the petitioner, Sri Digvijay Nath Dubey, learned Chief Standing Counsel for the respondents.

(2.) By this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India the petitioner is praying for following relief:

(3.) The petitioner is a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. The petitioner being an Association of Small Scale Ice Cream Manufacturers is eligible for various policies framed for promotion of Small Scale Industries by the various government agencies. The Association is challenging the validity of notification no. 8 of 2017 dated 27.07.2017 and 14 of 2019 dated 7th March, 2019 on the ground that same are unjust, unreasonable and in arbitrary manner the Ice Cream has been treated at par with Pan Masala and Tobacco products. There is no justification of the Ice Cream Manufacturers being treated equally with Pan Masala and Tobacco Manufacturers when admittedly there are no any ill-effects of consumption of Ice Cream. There are more than fifty thousand Small Scale Ice cream Manufacturers in India, which roughly employed 20-30 employees and such heavy taxation without any reasonable classification between Small Scale and Large Scale Ice Cream Manufacturers would lead to shut-down the Small Scale Units.