TMI Blog1988 (12) TMI 114X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... fication, and the benefit to one class was withdrawn while retaining it in favour of the other. It must, therefore, be held that the impugned Clause (a) of the Proviso 3 of the Notification in question ultra vires and the benefit allowed by the notification is available to the entire group including the respondent. Appeal dismissed. - 6 of 1976 - - - Dated:- 12-12-1988 - S/Shri Sabyasachi Mukharji and L.M. Sharma, JJ. [Judgment per: Sharma, J.]. - This appeal arises out of a writ application allowed by the Madras High Court striking down Clause (a) of the Proviso (3) of the Notification dated the 1st March, 1964 issued by the Union of India in the Ministry of Finance, under Rule 8(1) of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 and granting ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 60 and No. 37/63-Central Excise, dated the 1st March, 1963 the Central Government hereby exempts strawboard and pulpboard including, greboard, falling under sub-item (3) of Item No. 17 of the First Schedule to the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 (1 of 1944), taken together upto the quantity prescribed in column (1) of Table 1 (omitted), cleared by any manufacturer for home consumption during any financial year, from so much of the duty leviable thereon as is in excess of the amount specified in the corresponding entry in column (2) of the said Table : Table-1 (being not relevant, omitted) Provided that - (1)........................................ (2)........................................ Table-2 (being not relevant, omitted ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on or after 9.11.1963. This notification is not on the records of the case and the learned counsel has stated that he has also not been able to examine the same in spite of his unsuccessful request to the Department concerned for a copy thereof. He has mentioned about this notification in his argument on the basis of the reference in the judgment of the High Court. The High Court judgment does not throw any light on the nature of the Notification No. 110, and the learned counsel could not draw any inference about its provisions from the judgment. It is not claimed that the said notification was before the High Court or the Judges had any occasion to examine it. The present appeal was filed in 1976 and even now the learned counsel for the a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ange in the policy, the match factories were later classified as mechanised units and non-mechanised units and by a notification dated July 21, 1987 a concessional rate of duty was allowed in respect of units certified according to the provisions therein. The notification also contained a proviso. The purpose of these provisions was to grant the benefit of concessional rate of duty only to small manufacturers. This Court while analysing the notification observed that the proviso "would have defeated the very purpose of the notification, namely, the grant of concessional rate of duty only to small manufacturers". In order to cure this self-defeating position, the notification dated July 21, 1967 was amended by Notification No. 205 of 1967 da ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ting their case, indicate that the view taken by the High Court is correct. In U.P.M.T.S.NA. Samiti, Varanasi v. State of U.P. and others (supra) this Court observed in paragraph 1 of the judgment: 'The legislature could not arbitrarily adopt January 3, 1984, as the cut-off date......" After examining the circumstances of the case it was held in paragraph 2 :- "We agree with the High Court that fixation of the date January 3, 1984 for purposes of regularisation was not arbitrary or irrational but had a reasonable nexus with the object sought to be achieved." Similarly in Jagdish Pandey v. The Chancellor, University of Bihar and another it was held :- "There is no doubt that if the dates are arbitrary, Section 4 would be violative of A ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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