Pre-deposit under Central Excise law is not covered by sick company protection, so the statutory challenge fails.

The requirement to make a pre-deposit under the Central Excise Act was held not to be protected by Section 22 of the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985. Following the Supreme Court view that a pre-deposit under Section 35F does not fall within the categories covered by Section 22, the court held that the statutory shield for sick companies was unavailable against the pre-deposit direction. The challenge to the pre-deposit condition therefore failed.

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Issues: Whether the requirement of pre-deposit under the Central Excise Act is protected by Section 22 of the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985.

Analysis: The decision followed the Supreme Court ruling that payment of pre-deposit under Section 35F of the Central Excise Act, 1944 does not fall within the categories covered by Section 22 of the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985. Accordingly, the statutory protection under Section 22 was held to be unavailable against the pre-deposit direction.

Conclusion: The challenge to the pre-deposit condition failed, and the protection under Section 22 was held not to apply.

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