TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2022 (3) TMI 1453
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....icense for Retail Sale of Country Liquor) Rules, 2002 (for short 'the Rules'), the District Magistrate/Collector, Lakhimpur Kheri issued an advertisement for the settlement of the excise shops for the year 2002-03. (4) The respondent submitted an application in the prescribed form for grant of license for the retail sale of country liquor shop, Mohammadi No.1, Lakhimpur Kheri. A license was granted to the respondents for the year 200203 (from 01.04.2002 to 31.03.2003) for an annual license fee of Rs.29,52,000/. (5) In the month of December 2002, the respondent submitted an application for surrendering the excise shop/license. (6) As per the terms and conditions of the settlement, the respondent was liable to pay license fee for the shop for the aforesaid period i.e. from 01.04.2002 to 31.03.2003. The respondent had lifted quota of Rs.20,35,212/by the month ending 31.12.2002. (7) The appellants vide notice dated 06.01.2003 apprised to the respondent that the application filed by him for surrender of excise shop can be entertained only after deposit of balance of Rs.9,16,788/towards license fee. On 25.01.2003 the appellants again issued notice to the respondent to pay the outstan....
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....e shop for the year 2002-03. He did not pay the license fee from January 2003 to March 2003. He went on challenging the demand made by the Department for payment of balance of license fee and remained unsuccessful in his challenge. Finally, he filed the writ petition before the High Court i.e. Misc. Single No.2582 of 2003 wherein an interim order was granted. On account of this order, the appellants were restrained from collecting license fee. The writ petition was dismissed for nonprosecution. The respondent had deposited the remaining license fee in the year 2017 but failed to pay the interest to the Department. It is argued that when the writ petition was dismissed, the respondent ought to have paid the interest accrued on the license fee. It is further argued that the High Court was not justified in denying interest on the ground that the appellant had the protection of an interim order granted by the court. (14) On the other hand, learned counsel for the respondent submitted that the High Court had restrained the appellants from recovering the license fee by an interim order. The respondent has paid the license fee in the year 2017. Therefore, the appellants are not justifie....
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....the order which has been quashed. The stay of operation of an order does not, however, lead to such a result. It only means that the order which has been stayed would not be operative from the date of the passing of the stay order and it does not mean that the said order has been wiped out from existence." (19) Following the said decision, this Court in Kanoria Chemicals and Industries Ltd. and Others v. U.P. State Electricity Board and Others, (1997) 5 SCC 772 has held that an order of stay which is granted during the pendency of a writ petition/suit or other proceeding comes to an end with the dismissal of the substantive proceedings and it is the duty of the court in such cases to put the parties in the same position that they would have been in but for the interim order of the court. In that case, this Court rejected the contention that when the operation of the notification itself was stayed, no surcharge could be demanded upon the amount withheld. It was held thus: "11. .... Holding otherwise would mean that even though the Electricity Board, who was the respondent in the writ petitions succeeded therein, yet deprived of the late payment surcharge which was due to it under....
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.... actus curiae neminem gravabit, which means that an act of the Court shall prejudice no man, becomes applicable in such a case. (21) In South Eastern Coalfields Ltd. V. State of M.P. and Others, (2003) 8 SCC 648 the writ petitioner therein had argued that interest accrued due to nonpayment of enhanced amount of royalty was protected by a judicial order of an interim nature and, therefore, merely because the writ was finally dismissed, the writ petitioner should not be held liable for payment of interest so long as money was withheld under the protective umbrella of the injunction order. This submission was rejected by this Court by holding as under: "The principle of restitution has been statutorily recognized in Section 144 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. Section 144 CPC speaks not only of a decree being varied, reversed, set aside or modified but also includes an order on a par with a decree. The scope of the provision is wide enough so as to include therein almost all the kinds of variation, reversal, setting aside or modification of a decree or order. The interim order passed by the court merges into a final decision. The validity of an interim order, passed in favour....
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....llant therein no sooner the judgment of the High Court was reversed and the revision of tariffs was upheld. (23) In State of Rajasthan and Another v. J.K. Synthetics Limited and Another, (2011) 12 SCC 518 the interest for the period of which recovery of royalty was to be paid under Section 9(2) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 remained stayed under the interim orders of the court. However, eventually the writ petition was dismissed. This Court held that whenever there is an interim order of stay in regard to any revision in rate or tariff, unless the order granting interim stay or the final order dismissing the writ petition specifies otherwise, on the dismissal of the writ petition or vacation of the interim order, the beneficiary of the interim order shall have to pay interest on the amount withheld or not paid by virtue of the interim order. It was held thus: "23. It is therefore evident that whenever there is an interim order of stay in regard to any revision in rate or tariff, unless the order granting interim stay or the final order dismissing the writ petition specifies otherwise, on the dismissal of the writ petition or vacation of the int....