Case: Northern Plastics Ltd Vs. Hindustan Photo Films Mfg. Co. Ltd.&amp;Ors

duty and obligation under the statute to see that the residential area is not spoiled by unauthorised construction. Under these circumstances it was held that the aggrieved party had sufficient locus standi under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to move the High Court against the violation of the statutory scheme by the Municipal Authorities. It is easy to visualise that in that case this Court was concerned with the locus standi of an ‘aggrieved party’ under Article 226 of the Constitution of India which is of a wider nature as compared to the statutory right of appeal under a given statutory scheme before a Statutory Authority created by that very statute. The said decision is, therefore, of no avail to HPF. 11. As a result of the aforesaid discussion it must be held that the High Court had committed a patent error of law in taking the view that the concerned writ petitioners before it had sufficient locus standi to prefer appeals before CEGAT. The decision of CEGAT holding that they had no such locus standi was perfectly justified on the scheme of the Act and it was wrongly set aside by the High Court. Consequently the appeals will be required to be allowed.12. However a further question survives for our consideration. As the High Court has noted in the impugned judgment, the other contentions in the writ petitions filed by the contesting respondents were not considered by it in view of its decision on the right of appeal which was made available to the concerned writ petitioners before the CEGAT. We have, however, to observe in this connection that the High Court was not at all justified in presuming what it should do in case the appellant’s appeal succeeded before this Court. Proper direction in that connection should have been left to be given by this Court in such an eventuality. High Court could not have been pre-empted the same by the impugned judgment. However in view of the fact that other contentions in the writ petitions were not examined by the High Court in any case they will now have to be examined by it. As the decision on the right to appeal to CEGAT made available to the contesting respondents by the High Court is being set aside by us, the question remains as to what further appropriate orders can be passed in this connection. So far as this question is concerned it may be noted that two writ petitions were moved, one by Union of India being Civil Writ Petition No. 3023 of 1989 and another by HPF being Civil Writ Petition No. 2286 of 1989. As we have taken the view that HPF being a business rival of the appellant had no right to challenge the order of Additional Collector of Customs, Bombay passed in favour of the appellant its writ petition being Civil Writ Petition No. 2286 of 1989 filed before the High Court will stand dismissed. However writ petition filed by the Union of India being Civil Writ Petition No. 3023 of 1989 will have to be permitted to proceed further on remaining controversy before the High Court insofar as Union of India seeks to challenge the order of Collector of Customs, Bombay dated 1st/5th June, 1989. As we have taken the view that Union of India could legitimately challenge the said order before appropriate forum in public interest and as it has wider locus standi at least in proceedings under Article 226 of the Constitution of India if not before CECAT, its challenge in the writ petition under Article 226 against the said order cannot be told off the gates. That challenge will have to be examined by the High Court under Article 226 on its own merits. It is obvious that it will be open to the appellant as contesting respondent to try to support the impugned order of the Assistant Collector /Collector of Customs on all legally permissible grounds. In short the said controversy between the Union of India on the one hand and the appellant on the other in Union of Indias Writ Petition No. 3023 of 1989 will have to be examined by the Division Bench of the High Court on its own merits. As the proceedings are pending since long before the High Court so far as the aforesaid challenge is concerned it would be in the interest of justice to request the High Court to decide the said writ petition on the merits of the question regarding the legality and propriety of the order of Collector/Assistant Collector of Customs dated 5th June, 1989 as expeditiously as possible preferably within a period of four months from the date of receipt of a copy of this order at its end.13. Now remains the last question as to what is to be done about the amount fetched in auction of the goods pursuant to the interim order of this Court dated 24th September, 1990. We cannot accede to the request of the learned Counsel for the appellant that the said invested amount with accrued interest may be permitted to be withdrawn by the appellant at this stage by furnishing bank guarantee. In our view as the amount is lying deposited and invested by this Court since more than six and half years by now and as we are requesting the High Court to decide the pending writ petition of Union of India on the surviving question as aforesaid within four months from the date of receipt of copy of the present order it would be in the interest of all concerned to continue the investment of the deposited amount of the auction price by this Court and to direct that the withdrawal of that amount shall abide by the final result of the writ petition of the Union of India before the High Court and shall also remain subject to the result of further appeal, if any, against the High Courts judgment in the said writ petition.

Decision (1 = appeal accepted, 0 = rejected): 1

Explanation:
1[ds]So far as the Union of India is concerned we may proceed on the basis that it may have to subserve a larger public interest by raising the present dispute and may legitimately feel aggrieved by the order of the Additional Collector of Customs. But even if it is so, the statutory procedure laid down by the Parliament in its wisdom for enabling the challenge to the adjudication order of the Collector of Customs by way of appeals or revisions as per the aforesaid relevant statutory provisions, to which we have made a mention, has got to be followed in such an eventuality. Bypassing the said statutory procedure a direct frog leap to CEGAT is contra-indicated by the statutory scheme of the Act. If such direct appeals are permitted the very scheme of Section 129-A(1) would get stultified. It must, therefore, be held that direct appeal filed by the Union of India through Industries Ministry to CEGAT under Section 129-A(1) was clearly incompetent. It may be added that the Union of India could have used the mode set out in Section 129-D, but it did not do so.As a result of the aforesaid discussion it must be held that the High Court had committed a patent error of law in taking the view that the concerned writ petitioners before it had sufficient locus standi to prefer appeals before CEGAT. The decision of CEGAT holding that they had no such locus standi was perfectly justified on the scheme of the Act and it was wrongly set aside by the High Court. Consequently the appeals will be required to be allowed.12. However a further question survives for our consideration. Asthe High Court has noted in the impugned judgment, the other contentions in the writ petitions filed by the contesting respondents were not considered by it in view of its decision on the right of appeal which was made available to the concerned writ petitioners before theCEGAT. We have, however, to observe in this connection that the High Court was not at all justified in presuming what it should do in case theappeal succeeded before this Court. Proper direction in that connection should have been left to be given by this Court in such an eventuality. High Court could not have been pre-empted the same by the impugned judgment. However in view of the fact that other contentions in the writ petitions were not examined by the High Court in any case they will now have to be examined by it. As the decision on the right to appeal to CEGAT made available to the contesting respondents by the High Court is being set aside by us, the question remains as to what further appropriate orders can be passed in this connection. So far as this question is concerned it may be noted that two writ petitions were moved, one by Union of India being Civil Writ Petition No. 3023 of 1989 and another by HPF being Civil Writ Petition No. 2286 of 1989. As we have taken the view that HPF being a business rival of the appellant had no right to challenge the order of Additional Collector of Customs, Bombay passed in favour of the appellant its writ petition being Civil Writ Petition No. 2286 of 1989 filed before the High Court will stand dismissed. However writ petition filed by the Union of India being Civil Writ Petition No. 3023 of 1989 will have to be permitted to proceed further on remaining controversy before the High Court insofar as Union of India seeks to challenge the order of Collector of Customs, Bombay dated 1st/5th June, 1989. As we have taken the view that Union of India could legitimately challenge the said order before appropriate forum in public interest and as it has wider locus standi at least in proceedings under Article 226 of the Constitution of India if not before CECAT, its challenge in the writ petition under Article 226 against the said order cannot be told off the gates. That challenge will have to be examined by the High Court under Article 226 on its own merits. It is obvious that it will be open to the appellant as contesting respondent to try to support the impugned order of the Assistant Collector /Collector of Customs on all legally permissible grounds. In short the said controversy between the Union of India on the one hand and the appellant on the other in Union of Indias Writ Petition No. 3023 of 1989 will have to be examined by the Division Bench of the High Court on its own merits. As the proceedings are pending since long before the High Court so far as the aforesaid challenge is concerned it would be in the interest of justice to request the High Court to decide the said writ petition on the merits of the question regarding the legality and propriety of the order of Collector/Assistant Collector of Customs dated 5th June, 1989 as expeditiously as possible preferably within a period of four months from the date of receipt of a copy of this order at its end.13. Now remains the last question as to whatis to be done about the amount fetched in auction of the goods pursuant to the interim order of this Court dated 24th September,1990. We cannot accede to the request of the learned Counsel for the appellant that the said invested amount with accrued interest may be permitted to be withdrawn by the appellant at this stage by furnishing bank guarantee. In our view as the amount is lying deposited and invested by this Court since more than six and half years by now and as we are requesting the High Court to decide the pending writ petition of Union of India on the surviving question as aforesaid within four months from the date of receipt of copy of the present order it would be in the interest of all concerned to continue the investment of the deposited amount of the auction price by this Court and to direct that the withdrawal of that amount shall abide by the final result of the writ petition of the Union of India before the High Court and shall also remain subject to the result of further appeal, if any, against the High Courts judgment in the said writ petition.