MADHU MILAN SYNTEX LIMITED Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner No. 1 is a Company duly registered under the Companies Act, 1956 of which the petitioner No. 2 Bharat Kumar Modi is the Managing Director. It appears from the records of the case that after the petitioners had succeeded in the High Court of M.P. in Misc. Petition No. 1202 of 1989 regarding claim of the classification No. 4/87 by which this Court held that the sample collected before the judgment dated 25th Oct., 1989 could not be used against the petitioner for changing of the classification of the excisable goods under the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 (hereinafter called the Act of 1944). It was decided in this petition that the classification submitted by the petitioners would remain intact. The Excise Department, it was further held, was free to proceed against the classification submitted by the petitioners if they felt necessary after taking fresh sample after 25 -10 -1989. This court further held that it was liable to be set aside and accordingly quashed and consequently every action of the respondents in connection with changing of the classification list submitted by the petitioners upto that date i.e. 16 -6 -1988 was quashed. It was further held that the classification submitted by the petitioners would remain intact to date was also to govern in future. It was, however, open to the respondents to proceed against the petitioners' classification list de novo and afresh by taking a sample evidence and liberty to examine and cross -examine the Laboratory men and the concerned Excise Officer/officials, if necessary.

(2.) ACCORDING to the aforesaid judgment of this Court in M.P. No. 1202 of 1989, dated 25th Oct., 1989, the order issued by the Assistant Collector, Ujjain, respondent No. 2, in the matter of change in classification list was quashed and the classification list submitted by the petitioners was declared valid and intact on the date of judgment as well as in future also. While the matter was taken in appeal by the Department to the Supreme Court, it seems another show cause notice was issued by the Assistant Collector, Central Excise, although no order of stay was passed by the Supreme Court. This second show cause notice was challenged as arbitrary and irrelevant. It was accordingly prayed that the show cause notice dated 13th March 1990 issued by the Assistant Collector, Central Excise, Ujjain be declared as invalid and be quashed. This became the subject matter of another writ petition being Misc. Petition No. 512 of 1990. While the aforesaid writ petition M.P. No. 512 of 1990 was pending in this Court, the petitioners and the respondent Union of India, Ministry of Finance in the Department of Excise, got the writ petition disposed of by a consent order on 25 -4 -1992.

(3.) AS a matter of fact, the consent order when spoke of - 'the amended classification list dated 29 -7 -1991/5 -8 -1991 and 3 -2 -1992 shall be finalised by the Central Excise authorities in accordance with law giving a show cause notice' was sufficient direction in the facts and circumstances of the case, but any further hedging in of this direction affects equally the plea of limitation and the result of the approved classification as from a particular date, neither could the classification list be altered except in accordance with law nor could any further hedging in or hemming the aforesaid positive direction in any manner be countenanced excepting by observing due formalities of law. It was, therefore, submitted and argued that any further hedging in or qualifying clause in the consent order apart from the recognition of the amended classification lists from time to time, which, if changed, could be finalised only after giving a due show cause notice to the petitioners, frustrated the very object of the aforesaid direction contained in the consent order.