Licence renewal for past contravention requires assessment of seriousness and persistence before non-renewal can be imposed.

Refusal to renew a gold dealer's licence cannot be automatic merely because of a past offence; the licensing authority must consider the seriousness of the breach, whether there is a persistent tendency to contravene the law, and whether non-renewal is warranted as a drastic measure. The authority's failure to assess those factors made the rejection unsustainable, so the matter required fresh consideration on the gravity and persistence of the alleged violation. The record also indicated that the case concerned gold ornaments rather than contraband primary gold, a relevant circumstance in assessing seriousness.

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Issues: Whether refusal to renew a gold dealer's licence under Rule 3(f) of the Gold Control (Licensing of Dealers) Rules, 1969 could be sustained without examining the nature and gravity of the past offence and the persistence of the alleged violation.

Analysis: Renewal was declined only because the applicant had been involved in a prior offence, but the authority did not assess whether the violation was serious enough to justify the drastic consequence of denying renewal. The decision turned on the settled approach that refusal to renew a licence affecting the right to carry on business should not be automatic for every past contravention. The relevant considerations are the seriousness of the breach, whether there is a persistent tendency to violate the law, and whether the facts warrant the extreme step of non-renewal. The record also showed that the case related to gold ornaments and not contraband primary gold, which was a relevant circumstance for evaluating gravity.

Conclusion: The order rejecting renewal could not stand as passed, and the matter required fresh determination by the original authority after considering the seriousness and persistence of the alleged violation.

Ratio Decidendi: Refusal to renew a dealer's licence for a past offence is not automatic; the licensing authority must apply its mind to the seriousness and persistence of the contravention before imposing the drastic consequence of non-renewal.

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