Gold dealer licensing confined to statutory scheme; external government norms and departmental instructions cannot override the Act and Rules.

The licensing authority's discretion in deciding a gold dealer's licence application was confined to the statutory framework under Section 27 of the Gold (Control) Act, 1968 and Rule 2 of the Gold Control (Licensing of Dealers) Rules, 1969. Government norms fixed outside the Act and Rules were treated as non-statutory and incapable of governing the grant or refusal of a licence. Departmental instructions likewise could not override the legal requirements of the Act and Rules or operate as law for deciding the application. On that basis, external norms and instructions could not be used as an independent ground for the licence decision, and the application was rejected.

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Issues: Whether, while deciding an application for a gold dealer's licence, the authority could rely upon Government norms or departmental instructions not incorporated in the Gold (Control) Act, 1968 or the Gold Control (Licensing of Dealers) Rules, 1969.

Analysis: The licensing authority's power was held to be confined to the statutory scheme contained in Section 27 of the Gold (Control) Act, 1968 and Rule 2 of the Gold Control (Licensing of Dealers) Rules, 1969. Norms fixed by the Government outside the statute and the rules were treated as non-statutory and incapable of governing the grant or refusal of a licence. It was further observed that departmental instructions cannot override the legal requirements of the Act and Rules, nor can they be treated as having the force of law for deciding the application.

Conclusion: Government norms and departmental instructions outside the statute could not validly be used as an independent basis for deciding the licence application. The application for the dealer's licence was rejected.

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