AJAIB SINGH Vs. EXCISE AND TAXATION OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India and is directed against the demand of Rs. 6,04,284 by the Excise Inspector, Bhatinda. This demand is, dated the 8th of April, 1967, and is on account of the shortfall in the resale of country liquor vends at Old City, Sirki Bazar and Bus Stand, Bhatinda, and also the liquor vend, Maur Mandi.

(2.) In order to appreciate the impugned demand, it will be necessary to state a few facts, On the 23rd of February, 1967, the Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Punjab (respondent No. 3), published a pamphlet containing the conditions on which retail vends of country liquor and other excise vends for the financial year, 1967-68 would be auctioned. The financial, year in question started on the 1st of April, 1967 and would, end on the 31st of March, 1968. On the 21st of March, 1967, the petitioners and some other persons made bids for the vends. The petitioners' bid was the highest, it being 25,100 litres for Old City, Bhatinda, 34,200 litres for Sirki Bazar, Bhatinda; 20,300 litres for Bus Stand, Bhatinda and 39,100 litres for Maur Mandi. The total of all these four bids comes to 1,18,700 litres. The procedure for the sale of vends has been radically changed from the year 1966-67, when the bidding was only for licence-fee, the quota of the vends for the liquor, that had to be lifted, being fixed. The still-head duty on the quota, to be lifted, had to be separately paid. For the year 1967-68, the auction has been on the basis of the quota to be lifted and the so-called fee has to be determined by multiplying each liter of the bid quota by Rs. 17.60 (Clause 17 of Annexure 'A' - the terms and conditions of the auction for the year 196768. This amount of Rs. 17.60 per proof liter carries with it the still-head duty, as would be apparent from clause 18, the relevant part of which reads thus -

(3.) For the purpose of changing the mode of auction, the liquor licence Rules of 1956 were amended by a notification No. GSR-23/P.A.I./14/S. 59/AMD.(18)/67, dated the 14th March, 1967, published in the Punjab Government Gazette, "Extraordinary", dated the 14th of March, 1967. According to the amount of quota, that had to be lifted and had been bid for by the petitioners, the total licence-fee came to Rs. 20,89,120. On the 31st of March, 1967, the petitioners sent a telegram to the authorities which was followed by a letter of confirmation, that they had withdrawn from the offer which was made by them at the auction and which had been provisionally accepted by the Officer conducting the auction. The receipt of the telegram and the letter confirming it is admitted by the Department. But the petitioners' stand, that they had the right to withdraw the offer, which had been accepted by the Officer conducting the sale subject to, its confirmation by the Excise and Taxation Commissioner is not accepted. It is common ground that the highest bid, which had been accepted by the Officer conducting the auction, had not been accepted by the Excise and Taxation Commissioner, at the date of the withdrawal of the offer, - vide clause 2 of the Conditions of Auction. This clause reads thus -