Supreme Court upholds decision on license revalidation periods, emphasizing fair treatment for license holders.

The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, upholding the High Court's decision to set aside the circulars shortening revalidation periods for licenses. The Court found the circulars to be biased, arbitrary, and discriminatory, emphasizing the need for equal treatment of license holders. It directed processing of the appellant's revalidation application within four weeks, declaring the discrimination in revalidation periods as arbitrary and stressing fair treatment for all license holders.

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Issues:
1. Validity of circulars dated 10.10.2003 and 11.12.2003 shortening the revalidation period of licenses.
2. Discrimination between new licensees and old licensees in the context of advance licenses under the Export-Import Policy.

Analysis:
1. The respondent, engaged in manufacturing and exporting heat resistant latex rubber threads, faced restrictions on importing natural rubber under advance licenses due to a circular issued on 20.02.1999. Despite completing export obligations, the respondent was denied the benefit of advance licenses. The High Court initially held that fixing time periods falls under executive jurisdiction. However, the Division Bench later overturned this decision citing arbitrariness and discrimination between new and old licensees.

2. The Supreme Court analyzed the High Court's decision and found the circulars to be biased, arbitrary, and discriminatory. The Court highlighted the lack of rational nexus between the differentiation in revalidation periods for old and new license holders and the policy objectives of optimizing exports. It criticized the policy for singling out affected parties for further differentiation without a public policy imperative. The Court concluded that the respondent should be allowed revalidation of licenses on par with fresh licensees, emphasizing equal treatment under the law.

3. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, upholding the High Court's decision to set aside the impugned circulars dated 10.10.2003 and 11.12.2003. The Court directed the respondents to process the appellant's application for revalidation within four weeks and declared that the discrimination in revalidation periods was arbitrary. The judgment emphasized fair treatment for all license holders, irrespective of the time constraints imposed by past policies.

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