- (1.) This appeal, on certificate, is directed against the judgment, dated April 8, 1964 of the Punjab High Court in Civil Writ Application No. 30/D of 1960, filed by the appellants under Article 226 and 227 of the Constitution.
(2.) The appellants challenged in their writ petition, as many as eight orders passed on different dates by the various respondents herein, under the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 (hereinafter called the Act). As pointed out by the High Court, the writ petition was very prolix and had been drafted in a very confusing manner and the objections raised by the respondents followed the same pattern. But, when one reads through the various orders passed by the authorities, as well as the averments made in the writ petition and in the counter-affidavit of the respondents, the following facts emerge.
(3.) The appellant No. 1, is a firm carrying on business in tobacco and is a licensee of private bonded warehouses and duty paid godown at Haldwani, District Nainital. Appellant No. 2 is the proprietor of the firm. On September 28, 1956, Shri J. P. Bhatia, Deputy Superintendent of Central Excise, Rampur Circle, visited the duty-paying and non-duty paying tobacco premises of the appellant in connection with the inspection of the premises regarding their suitability or otherwise in respect of a proposal that had been made by the firm for an addition to their non-duty paid premises. According to the appellants, nobody was present on their behalf at the time of the visit of the Deputy Superintendent. The keys of the godown were given by one Khuda Bux, who also was an independent tobacco licensee. According to the respondents one Sham Lal who is a lawyer by profession, was associated with the appellant's business and was present when Shri Bhatia visited the godown but declined to co-operate with the department. On inspection of both types of premises, the Deputy Superintendent found various substitutions and shortage of tobacco.;