Customs exemption notification upheld on public interest grounds; no writ relief granted after the import issue had become stale.

An exemption notification under Section 25(2) of the Customs Act was challenged on the basis that the statutory requirements of public interest and exceptional circumstances were not met. The notification recorded a shortage of caustic soda and the need to import a specified quantity at a viable price, which was treated as sufficient to show public interest. The complaint that the concession was confined to one corporation did not justify granting a vague, open-ended benefit to all importers without fixing the relevant period or quantity. In view of the lapse of time since the import and the absence of any practical benefit from striking down the notification, no effective writ relief was granted.

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Issues: Whether the exemption notification issued under Section 25(2) of the Customs Act was invalid for want of the statutory conditions of public interest and exceptional circumstances, and whether the petitioners were entitled to any relief in the writ petition.

Analysis: The notification itself recited a shortage of caustic soda in the country and the need to import a specified quantity to meet the shortage at a viable price, which was held sufficient to indicate that the action was taken in public interest. Although the grievance that the exemption was confined to a single corporation and not extended to other importers was noted, the Court found that it could not grant a vague and open-ended benefit to all importers without determining the period or quantity. The Court further held that, given the lapse of time since the 1979 import and the practical absence of any useful advantage from striking down the notification, no effective writ relief should be granted.

Conclusion: The challenge to the exemption notification failed and no relief was granted to the petitioners.

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