Sr. No. 1
HIGH COURT OF JAMMU & KASHMIR AND LADAKH
AT JAMMU
CJ Court
Case: LPA No. 138 of 2021
Viney Verma .....Appellant/Petitioner(s)
Through :- Sh. U K Jalali, Senior Advocate
with Smt. Shivani Jalali, Advocate.
v/s
Excise Commissioner J&K Govt. Excise .....Respondent(s)
Taxation Complex Jammu and others
Through :- Sh. D C Raina, Advocate General
Sh. K D S Kotwal, Dy. AG.
CORAM:
HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MOHAN LAL, JUDGE
ORDER
1. Heard Sh. U K Jalali, Senior Counsel assisted by Smt. Shivani Jalali, learned counsel for the petitioner/appellant and Sh. D C Raina, learned Advocate General assisted by Sh. KDS Kotwal, learned Dy. AG for the respondents.
2. The Letters Patent Appeal has been preferred against the judgment and order dated 24.12.2021 passed by the Writ Court disposing of the writ petition of the petitioner/appellant with direction to approach the competent authority within a period of ten days for issuance of "non-criminal antecedents certificate" and in case, such a certificate is produced and submitted by the petitioner/appellant, the State-respondents would decide the matter of grant of liquor license to him within the next ten days in terms of the Excise Police 2021-22.
3. The petitioner/appellant was a successful bidder for grant of license to run a retail sale counter of liquor for the location JMC, Ward No.49-F, Transport Nagar, Narwal, Jammu.
2 LPA No. 138/2021
4. The license to run the aforesaid liquor vend was granted provisionally subject to the conditions and verifications of genuineness of the documents submitted by him which would be verified within two months. The said license upon verification was valid up to 31.03.2022. The aforesaid provisional license was granted to the petitioner/appellant on the strength of the provisional character certificate dated 20.05.2021 issued by the Sub Divisional Police Officer subject to verification from the CID Headquarters regarding the petitioner/appellant's involvement in political/subversive activities. The certificate categorically states that it is valid only for three months i.e. up to 20.08.2021. The District Magistrate, Jammu vide letter dated 20.05.2021 gave clearance to the petitioner/appellant to run the liquor vend at the described location subject to outcome of pending proceedings against him. The character certificate issued in favour of the petitioner/appellant on 20.05.20212 was informed to have been cancelled as he was involved in several criminal cases under different police stations in Jammu district as well as Crime Branch and CBI. This was done by virtue of a corrigendum issued by the Sub Divisional Police Officer, City West Jammu on 13.08.2021.
5. It may be pertinent to note here that the certificate issued to the petitioner/ appellant was valid only for three months i.e. up to 20.08.2021 and the same was stated to have been cancelled vide corrigendum communication dated 13.08.2021. Even if it had not been cancelled, it would have lapsed on 20.08.2021 i.e. within seven days of the passing of the cancellation order whereupon the petitioner/appellant would have been without any character certificate which is an essential condition for the grant of liquor license.
6. The Excise Policy 2021-22 clearly provides that the license for operating liquor vends shall be granted strictly in accordance with the statutory provisions and the eligibility criteria laid down which, inter alia, provides that 3 LPA No. 138/2021 the bidder should not have any criminal antecedents, meaning thereby, that no person with criminal record is entitled for a liquor license.
7. The Excise Policy further clearly laid down that the bidder should not have been convicted/charge-sheeted for any offence under J&K Excise Act or should not be facing a trial in any criminal court for any non-bailable offence or should have any criminal antecedents. It also provides that the Excise Commissioner would get the documents furnished by the successful bidder verified. The petitioner/ appellant while applying for the license has submitted an affidavit which was mandatory to the effect that he has not been convicted/charge-sheeted under the J&K Excise Act or is facing a trial in any criminal court for any non-bailable offence or has any criminal antecedents.
8. The petitioner/appellant has not only admitted in paragraph 7 of the writ petition that six criminal cases are registered against him, out of which he has been acquitted in three cases, two cases are still pending wherein proceedings have been stayed by the High court, meaning thereby, that the aforesaid two cases are pending against him and that one other criminal case is pending against him but has also accepted during arguments about the pendency of the above criminal cases.
9. In view of the` aforesaid admission, the affidavit of the petitioner/appellant submitted at the time of applying for the license is clearly false.
10. In view of the aforesaid facts and circumstances, the petitioner/appellant is not a person with clean image, rather is having criminal antecedents against whom criminal cases are pending and that he has falsely submitted an affidavit in order to procure license that he is not facing any trial or is having any criminal antecedent, and if the authorities have revoked the provisional character certificate issued to him, no illegality has been 4 LPA No. 138/2021 committed. Moreover, such a provisional character certificate issued to the petitioner/ appellant was for a fixed period which has already expired whereupon no new certificate has been issued and produced by him.
11. In such circumstances, we are of the opinion that the learned Single Judge has not committed any mistake in disposing of the petition and allowing the petitioner/appellant to approach the competent authority for the issuance of a fresh certificate whereupon on production the competent authority was left free to consider whether the petitioner/ appellant be allowed to run the liquor vend or not in accordance with the terms of the Excise Policy 2021-22.
12. Sh. Jalali, Senior Counsel in the end submitted that the petitioner/appellant has invested about a crore of rupees in stocking liquor for the sale in terms of the license granted and in case he is not allowed to run the liquor vend, his entire stock would go waste.
13. In the above circumstances, the petitioner/appellant may approach the Excise Commissioner for grant of permission to dispose of the stock and to adjust the sale proceeds against the dues of the petitioner/appellant or if necessary, to refund the same to him.
14. In case, any such application is moved, the Excise Commissioner shall consider it in accordance with law and the Excise Policy, most expeditiously, preferably within a period of two weeks.
15. The appeal lacks merit and is dismissed with the above observation.
(MOHAN LAL) (PANKAJ MITHAL)
JUDGE CHIEF JUSTICE
JAMMU
31.12.2021
RAJ KUMAR