STANDARD GREASES Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioners in this case are aggrieved by the attachment of their finished goods and raw materials by the respondent No.4, Superintendent of Central Excise, Range 2, Division Boisar, District Thane. The grievance of the petitioners is that the attachment has been made for recovery of the demand pursuant to the order of respondent No.3 _ Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise, Boisar Division, Mumbai III Commissionerate, Boisar, District Thane dated 28th November 1997 being order No.668/97. Mr.Basil Menezes, learned Counsel for the petitioners, submits that the statutory period for filing the appeal is not yet over and the petitioners propose to file an appeal against the same within a period of two weeks from today. He further submits that the petitioners also propose to file stay application before the appellate authority for stay of the recovery of the disputed demand pending disposal of the appeal. The contention of the petitioners is that the attachment of the goods by the respondents for recovery of disputed demand pursuant to the impugned order before expiry of the statutory period is unjust and improper. He seeks a direction to the respondents to lift the attachment and not to take coersive action for recovery of the disputed demand till the expiry of the statutory period for the filing of the appeal and in the event of appeal and stay application being filed, till the disposal of the stay application by the appellate authority and for a period of two weeks thereafter. Reliance is placed in support of the above prayer on the decision of this Court in Mahindra and Mahindra v Union of India 1992 (59) E.L.T. 505 (Bom.).

(2.) WE have heard Mr.H.V.Mehta, learned counsel for the respondents, who submits that in view of the above decision of this Court, the attachment will be lifted by the respondents and no coersive action will be taken till the expiry of the statutory period for filing of the appeal and stay application and till the disposal of the stay application by the appellate authority and for a period of two weeks thereafter if such an application is filed by the petitions. He however seeks a direction to the petitioners to inform the respondents about the filing of the appeal and stay application in time. The learned counsel for the petitioners undertakes to do so. Mr.Mehta also assures the Court that if any stay application is filed by the petitioners, the same will be disposed of by the appellate authority as expeditiously as possible and at any rate within six weeks from the date of filing of the same.