THE NORTH ARCOT DISTRICT PAWN BROKERS ASSOCIATION REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY A.V. ANANTHAKRISHNA CHETTIAR AND ORS. Vs. THE SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, MINISTRY OF FINANCE (DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE AND INSURANCE) AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners in all these writ petitions barring W.P. Nos. 1266 to 1268 of 1972 pray for the same relief. For the purpose of understanding the nature of the relief they have prayed for and the legal consequences thereof, it is necessary to refer to a few facts. The Madras Financiers and Pawn-Brokers Association, and one K. Hansraj filed two writ petitions, W.P. Nos. 2611 and 2612 of 1970 on the file of this Court. In these writ petitions, they prayed for the issue of writs of mandamus restraining the respondents, namely, the Union of India represented by the Secretary to Government, Ministry of Finance, New Delhi and the Collector of Central Excise, Madras-34 from proceeding with the enforcement of Gold Control Trade Notices 6 and 7 of I970 dated 18th June, 1970 and 27th July, 1970 respectively said to have been issued by the Collector of Central Excise, Madras. Those two writ petitions were filed obviously on the basis that to the pawn-brokers the provisions contained in the Gold Control Act, 1968 did not apply. When the two writ petitions came up for heating before Palaniswamy, J., the learned Judge observed ;

(2.) After the disposal of these two writ petitions, the Collector of Central Excise issued a Gold Control Trade Notice No. 3 of 1972 dated 3rd March, 1972. In this trade notice, it was stated that those pawnbrokers who were not covered by the orders of the High Court, Madras, namely , persons other than the petitioners in those two writ petitions had to file declarations with effect from 29th June, 1968 as required under Section 16 of the Gold Control Act, 1968 and those persons might file the declarations of their then holdings as on 1st February, 1972 within 15 days and a consolidated declaration of stocks as on 29th June, 1968, and subsequent acquisition or disposal up-to 31st January, 1972 within a period of 30 days from the date of filing their first declaration. Three Associations, namely, the North Arcot District Pawnbrokers Association, the Pondicherry Pawnbrokers Association and the South Arcot District Pawnbrokers Association, which are associations registered under the Societies Registration Act, filed writ petitions, W.P. Nos. 1266, 1267 and 1268 of 1972 respectively praying for the issue of a writ of mandamus restraining the Central Government and the Collector of Central Excise, Madras, from proceeding with the enforcement of the said notice. This Court admitted those writ petitions on 23rd May, 1972 and issued an interim order of stay staying the operation of the said notice. After taking note of the said order of stay, the Deputy Collector of Central Excise acting on behalf of the Collector of Central Excise issued a new Trade Notice on 27th October, 1973 styled as Cold Control Trade Notice No. 9 of 1973. Since all the writ petitions barring the three petitions referred to above have been filed against the said Trade Notice, it is necessary to-extract the said notice in full and it is as follows:

(3.) The petitioners in the writ petitions other than the three referred to above pray for the issue of a writ of mandamus restraining the respondents therein, namely, the Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Finance, New Delhi, the Collector of Central Excise, Madras-34 and the concerned Inspectors of Customs and Central Excise, from proceeding with the enforcement of the said notice, in so far as the petitioners are concerned. The question for consideration is, whether, the petitioners are entitled to the relief of mandamus which they have prayed for.