METHODEX SYSTEMS LTD Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS order shall dispose of all the three Misc. Petition Nos. 124/91,125/91 and 126/91 as they are filed by the same petitioner and common questions of law and facts are involved in all the petitions.

(2.) BY these petitions filed under Articles 226/227 and 265 of the Constitution of India the petitioners seek quashment of show cause notices marked as Annexure H in all the petitions and other consequential reliefs.

(3.) THE petitioner No. 1 is a Company duly incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956. Petitioner No. 2 is a shareholder of the petitioner No. 1 Company. The petitioner Company has set-up a plant at Indore where it manufactures variovis types of steel office equipments including Card Index Steel Cabinets under the brand name of Methodex Visible Record Cabinet. The respondent No. 4 Superintendent, Central Excise, MOR-IV, Indore has issued three notices Under Section 11a of the Central Excise and Salt Act, 1944 (for short, 'the Act') for the period August 1989 to December 1989 dated 29-1-1990, January 1990 to March 1990, dated 7-5-1990 and April 1990 to August 1990 dated, 10-9-1990, respectively, to show cause as to why the additional Central Excise duty as specified in the said notices and for the aforesaid periods should not be recovered from the petitioner Company. These show cause notices are under challenge in these petitions. According to the petitioners these notices are without jurisdiction. It is further submitted on behalf of the petitioners that petitioner No. 1 Company is being discriminated as it is being taxed at higher rate as compared to other companies like Remington and Godrej.