INDIAN AMMONIUM NITRATE MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION MUMBAI Vs. UNION OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAE JUSTICE AND COMPANY AFFAIRS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Writ Petition by way of Public Interest Litigation has been filed by two petitioner first petitioners. Claims to be an Association of Indian Ammonium Nitrate Manufacturers. It is not a registered association, but it is claimed that application has already been moved for registration under Section 25 of the India Companies Act, 1956 which is said to be still pending. The Association claims that one of its objects is to safeguard the interest of Ammonium Nitrate manufacturers in India. Second petitioner claims himself of be the promoter of first petitioner and is also Deputy Managing Director of Deepak Fertiliser & Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd., a company engaged in the manufacture and sale of fertilisers and ammonium nitrate in the country.

(2.) The petitioners are aggrieved by the alleged inaction on the part of the respondent 1 to 12 failing to prevent the alleged clandestine imports of ammonium nitrate of explosive grade in bulk. Petitions have alleged that respondent 13 to 15 and other importers and explosive manufacturers are importing ammonium nitrate of Explosive Grade in bulk clandestinely by declaring the same to be a Fertiliser Grade, which is in breach of directions issued by the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board. They are also violating the provisions of Customs Act, 1962 read with Customs Tariff Act and the Fertiliser (Control) Order, 1985, issued under the Essential Commodities Act.

(3.) Petitioners claim that the Fertiliser Control Order, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Order') exhaustively defines which substances are fertilisers. Part a of Schedule I thereto specifies Calcium Ammonium Nitrate having a concentration of Nitrogen of either 25% or 26% to be fertilizer. Therefore, Ammonium Nitrate having such concentration of nitrogen alone can be considered to be of Fertilizer Grade. The Indian Standard Specification for Ammonium Nitrate for Explosive (1st Revision) adopted by the Indian Standard Institution specifies that Ammonium Nitrate having a concentration of Nitrogen of 34.5% or above is of Explosive Grade. The A.P. Pollution Control Board (hereinafter referred to as the 'Board'), vide its letter dated 8th April, 2002 issued directions for regulating the import of hazardous chemicals in the light of the acknowledged health hazards in transporting, unloading, handing and storing Ammonium Nitrate of Explosive Grade in bulk. According to the petitioner, the directions issued by the Board would amount to imposing a prohibition on the import of Explosive Grade Ammonium Nitrate in bulk.