- (1.) The short point that arises for our consideration is whether the Principle of Promissory stoppel applies to the facts of this case. The facts are as under :- The appellants owned two sugar factories at Daurala and Mawana (Meerut) and at both these factories the business of manufacturing and selling of sugar by vacuum pan process was carried on. The Central Government promulgated the Sugar (Control) Order on 10.6.66 under which the sale of sugar by producers was controlled. In order to mitigate the hardship caused to the sugar industry in the establishment of new sugar factories and for effecting substantial expansions in the existing sugar factories, the Government sanctioned a scheme in November, 1975 providing incentives to the new sugar factories and also to those sugar factories who had applied for and completed their expansion projects during the period 1.11.75 to 20.10.80. The incentives consisted partly of higher percentage of levy-free sugar quota and partly of concessions in the excise duty. It was also announced that the eligible sugar factories will be entitled for the above-said incentives for a period of five years from the date of their completion of licenced expansions. In the year 1978, there was a major change in the sugar policy i.e. the control and the price, distribution, release and movement of sugar was lifted w.e.f. August 16, 1978. As a result of this decontrol, the classification - levy and levy-free sugar - no longer existed and consequently the benefits under the incentive scheme were no longer required/available. While so, the Central Government w.e.f. December 17, 1979 again modified the sugar policy to provide for partial control with dual pricing as was the situation prior to August 16, 1978. The Government after examining the various altered parameters for revising the scheme announced a revised scheme to provide incentives to the new sugar factories and expansion projects. This revised scheme came into effect from the sugar year 1980-81. At this juncture, it must be noted that the percentage of levy-free sugar announced in the 1975 scheme is higher than the percentage announced in the 1980 scheme. The new scheme of the year 1980 was made applicable even to those industries who were otherwise entitled to the benefit of the scheme announced in the year 1975. The appellants after completing the expansion projects at the two places on 6.8.80 and 13.8.80 applied for necessary eligibility certificate for additional free-sale sugar entitlements as per the incentives announced. The respondents allowed the incentives as per the revised 1980 scheme. However, the appellants asserted that the incentives as per the scheme announced in the year 1975 must be given to them. The respondents did not accede to this claim of the appellants.
(2.) Aggrieved by that they moved the High Court for the issue of a writ of mandamus directing the first respondent to issue a supplementary eligibility certificate for 1.63 lakh quintals of additional free- sale sugar entitlement over and above the entitlement declared by the Central Government on the basis of revised 1980 scheme for the year 1980-81 to 1982-83. In addition to that, the appellants also prayed for a writ of mandamus directing the first respondent to issue a further eligibility certificate determining the amount of additional free-sale entitlement to the appellants' sugar factory for the year 1983-84 and 1984-85 under the incentive scheme of the year 1975.
(3.) The High Court rejecting the claim of the appellants dismissed the writ petition.;