KANUMURI RAGHU RAMAKRISHNA RAJU Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has preferred this Writ Petition (Public Interest Litigation) praying to declare:

(2.) According to the learned counsel for the petitioner, the 14th respondent, i.e. A.P. State Beverages Corporation Ltd., has been granted exclusive rights and privileges to manage the wholesale as well as the retail trade of alcohol by invoking Sec. 6 of the Andhra Pradesh (Regulation of Trade in Indian Made Foreign Liquor, Foreign Liquor) Act, 1993 (in short, 'Act No.15 of 1993'). Vide Sec. 4-A of Act No.15 of 1993, the Government was entitled to specify the trade margin, privilege fee or any other levy, by whatever name called, to be collected by the Andhra Pradesh Beverages Corporation from the holders of licences. Under Sec. 4-B of Act No.15 of 1993, the amount realised under Sec. 4-A being the income of the Government, shall be remitted by the Corporation to the Government in the manner specified by the Government. Similarly, under Sec. 4-C of Act No.15 of 1993, all amounts paid by the Corporation from 21/7/1993 to the Commissioner of Prohibition and Excise or the Government as privilege fee or special privilege fee or any fee or cess, by whatever name called, in consideration of the privilege conferred on the Corporation, as per the provisions of Ss. 23(1), 23-A and 23-B of the Andhra Pradesh Excise Act, 1968 (in short, 'the 1968 Act'), shall be deemed to be and always deemed to have been the income of the Government and due payment for the relevant years in terms of Sec. 4-B of Act No.15 of 1993.

(3.) It is argued by the learned counsel that the Corporation, being an instrumentality of the State and having been granted exclusive privilege to run liquor shops in the State of Andhra Pradesh as also for importing/exporting and carrying out wholesale trade and distribution in Indian liquor, foreign liquor, wine and beer, discharges governmental function. Under Article 265 of the Constitution of India, it is provided that no tax shall be levied or collected except by authority of law, and further, under Article 266, no money out of the Consolidated Fund of India or the Consolidated Fund of a State shall be appropriated except in accordance with law and for the purposes and in the manner provided in the Constitution. The 14th respondent-Corporation has no independent income except the mandate for which it is constituted and its income is deemed to be the income of the Government; therefore, the impugned amendment conferring statutory status on the Corporation to implement welfare schemes of the Government by utilizing its income, is contrary to the statutory provisions and for the said purpose, the Corporation has been authorised to borrow huge amount of money from banks/banks consortium.