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TMI Blog1991 (1) TMI 136X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y granted on August 16,1979 is vacated and the appellant will be entitled to recover the dues from the security furnished pursuant to that order. - 2341 of 1978 - - - Dated:- 25-1-1991 - M.N. Venkatachaliah and A.M. Ahmadi, JJ. [Judgment per : Ahmadi, J.]. - This appeal, on certificate, is directed against the decision of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh which has quashed the imposition of duty and levy of penalty on the ground that the show cause notice was issued after the expiry of the period of six months from the accrual of the cause of action. The facts leading to this appeal are as follows : 2. The respondent M/s. Ramdev Tobacco Company, a sole proprietary concern, was at all material times a dealer in tobacco having a licensed warehouse at Guntur. The dealer was liable to pay duty on the tobacco received at his warehouse and transported to another dealer. On August 30,1972 the appellant issued a notice calling upon the respondent to show cause why duty should not be demanded under Rule 160 of Central Excise Rules, 1944 ('the Rules' hereafter) on 64,444 kgs. of VFC Farmash Tobacco removed from his warehouse and not accounted for in the warehouse register maintai ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Single Judge in accord with its view in Writ Petition No. 2516 of 1974 decided on April 1, 1976. It, therefore, dismissed the appeal but since it had granted a certificate to appeal in the case relied on, it also granted a similar certificate which has given rise to this appeal. 3. Sub-section (2) of Section 40 of the Act as it stood at the relevant point of time before its amendment by Amendment Act 22 of 1973 read as under: "No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall be instituted for anything done or ordered to be done under the Act after the expiration of six months from the accrual of the cause of action or from the dale of the act or order complained of." Before we proceed to analyse this sub-section it would be advantageous to bear in mind that sub-section (1) of this section bars the institution of any suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding against the Central Government or its officer in respect of any order passed in good faith or any act in good faith done or ordered to be done under the Act. The second sub-section pres.c.ribes a period of limitation for suits, prosecutions and other legal proceedings instituted, lodged or taken for anything done or ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... derols. Books of account were not correctly maintained. There was of shortage of banderols in stock. Unbanderolled matches were found. These are all infraction of the provisions in respect of things done or ordered to be done under the Act." It is, therefore, clear from the above observation that any omission or infraction of the statutory provision would also fall within the ambit of the provision. Non-payment of duty or dues which a dealer is under an obligation to pay under the statute was, therefore, held to fall within the s.c.ope of the provision. In that case the complaint against the respondents was that to evade the payment of duty they had used and affixed cut and torn banderols and had failed to maintain the accounts correctly resulting in shortage in stocks. The respondents were prosecuted for contravention of the Rules punishable under Sections 9(b) and 9(d) of the Act as also under Section 420 read with Sections 511 and 109,1.P.C. The respondents pleaded the bar of Section 40 of the Act as it then stood. The High Court upheld the contention that the prosecution was barred by the rule of limitation incorporated in Section 40 as the same was instituted after the expir ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... those referred to by the preceding specific things constituting a genus, unless of course from the language of the statute it can be inferred that the general words were not intended to be so limited and no absurdity or unintended and unforeseen complication is likely to result if they are allowed to take their natural meaning. The cardinal rule of interpretation is to allow the general words to take their natural wide meaning unless the language of the statute gives a different indication or such meaning is likely to lead to absurd results in which case their meaning can be restricted by the application of this rule and they may be required to fall in line with the specific things designated by the preceding words. But unless there is a genus which can be comprehended from the preceding words, there can be no question of invoking this rule. Nor can this rule have any application where the general words precede specific words. 7. There can be little doubt that the words 'other legal proceeding' are wide enough to include adjudication and penalty proceedings under the Act. Even the learned Additional Solicitor General did not contend to the contrary but what he said was that since ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... is rule, as explained in Amar Chandra v. Excise Collector, Tripura - AIR 1972 S.C. 1863 at 1868 (Sutherland, Volume 2 pages 399-400) the High Court observed that there was no indication in the said sub-section or elsewhere in the Act that the said general words were intended to receive their wide meaning and were not to be construed in a limited sense with the aid of the ejusdem generis rule. A departmental proceeding like penalty proceedings were, therefore, placed outside the s.c.ope of the said sub-section. This view was quoted with approval by a learned Single Judge of the Bombay High Court in C.C. Industries Others v. H.N. Ray Another -1980 (6) E.L.T. 442 at 453. These two cases, therefore, clearly support the view canvassed before us by the learned Additional Solicitor General. 9. We have given our careful consideration to the submission made on behalf of the appellant, reinforced by the view expressed in the aforesaid two decisions. In considering the s.c.ope of the expression 'other legal proceeding' we have confined ourselves to the language of sub-section (2) of Section 40 of the Act before its amendment by Act 22 of 1973 and should not be understood to express any ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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