RAJ BREWERIES LIMITED Vs. GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD Mr. Tulzapurkar and Mr. Andhyarujina for the petitioners in these petitions. Mr. Chandurkar appears for respondents Nos. 1 and 2 and Mr. Deodhar appears for respondents Nos. 3 and 4.

(2.) ALL these petitions seek a direction through prayer cl. (a) to prohibit respondent No. 1 Government of India (for the canteen stores Department of Ministry of Defence) from withholding the payments of the amounts which are due and which may become due to the petitioners on the basis of the notices issued by the IT authorities (respondents Nos. 3 and 4 to these petitions).

(3.) NOW , what has happened is that an amount of Rs. 93,23,43,357 is outstanding from Shaw Wallace & Co. towards income tax and to recover it, a notice dt. 26th March, 2001, has been issued by the TRO under S. 226(3) of the IT Act, 1961 (for short, "the Act"), to respondent No. 1 directing it to stop payments which are due from the canteen stores department on account of Shaw Wallace & Co. That notice is annexed as exhibit C 1 to the petitions. The grievance of these petitioners is that on the basis of this notice, respondent No. 1 has stopped making any payment to them for the supplies which they have already made to respondent No. 1. Respondent No. 1 has filed an affidavit in reply and Mr. Deodhar, learned counsel appearing for respondents Nos. 3 and 4, has tendered a compilation of some of the documents from the record of the TRO.