ANIL JAMNADAS CHHATBAR Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) RULE, returnable forthwith. Mr. S. M. Shah waives service on behalf of the respondents. Heard. On an earlier writ petition filed in respect of the same consignment, an order was passed on 20th June 1990 whereby the 2nd respondent was directed to give a personal hearing to the petitioner pursuant to a Query Memo on or before 9th July 1990 and thereafter to pass an order and serve it upon the petitioner on or before 24th July 1990. The order contemplated by the said order was passed on 19th July 1990. The 2nd respondent stated in the order that "some more enquiries could be made regarding the quotation and I might have given some more opportunity to the Counsel to lead evident to the contrary in this behalf. However, this cannot be done as the hon'ble High Court has directed me to pass the order on or before 24-7-1990. "

(2.) A second writ petition was filed impugning the order dated 19th July 1990. The ground was that the order had been passed in spite of insufficiency of material and insufficiency of opportunity to the petitioner. The learned single Judge was of the opinion that the petitioner had an alternate remedy in the from of an appeal and he dismissed the petition. An appeal was filed against the order of the single Judge whereon the appeal Court passed an order on 12th October 1990. The operative part of the order reads thus :

(3.) THIS third writ petition is filed because no order has been passed by the 2nd respondent within 3 weeks from 12th October 1990 nor, indeed, till today, nor has he heard the petitioner. An affidavit has been filed by the Assistant Collector of Customs, Air Cargo. He states that the hearing could not be given due to the "bona fide reason" that the "air Cargo Complex of the customs received communication about the passing of the order dated 12-10-1990 of the Hon'ble court for hearing the petitioner only after the expiry of the period of 3 weeks when the importer's Clearing Agents under cover of the letter dated 9-11-1990 submitted a copy of the court's order".