Interest on refunded customs duty denied where the claim was omitted in the original writ and treated as relinquished.

A claim for interest on refunded customs duty was rejected where the petitioners had sought only refund in the earlier writ petition and had not claimed interest when the matter was filed or decided. The later demand was treated as an impermissible enlargement of relief after recovery of the principal amount, and the principle underlying Order II Rule 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, was applied in substance. The omission to claim interest earlier was treated as a relinquishment of that claim, so no interest was payable on the refunded duty.

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Issues: Whether the petitioners were entitled to claim interest on the customs duty refunded pursuant to the earlier writ petition, notwithstanding that no such relief was sought in the original proceedings.

Analysis: The petitioners had sought only refund of the excess duty in the earlier writ petition and had not claimed interest either at the stage of filing or when the matter was heard and decided. The claim for interest was therefore treated as a belated attempt to enlarge the relief after the principal amount had already been recovered. The Court applied the principle underlying Order II Rule 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, as governing the situation in substance, and held that the omission to claim interest earlier amounted to a relinquishment of that claim.

Conclusion: The petitioners were not entitled to interest on the refunded duty, and the claim was rejected.

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