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Mayank_Pandit
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The Judgment of the Court was delivered by Bachawat, J. The appellant holds yearly licenses for the retail sale of country spirit in respect of six shops in the town of Jamshedpur working under the sliding scale system under the Bihar and Orissa Excise Act, 1915 (Bihar and Orissa Act 2 of 1915) hereinafter referred to as the Act. A total sum of Rs. 11,099 was demanded and paid as security in respect of all the licenses. The original licenses in respect of the six shops were issued long ago and were renewed from year to year. By an order dated June 27, 1956, the Board of Revenue, Bihar directed that the security deposit of an Excise shop working under the sliding scale system is hereby fixed as equivalent to two months' average license fees of the shop. The security deposit payable by the appellant on the basis of this direction would amount to about Rs. 68,000. On November 14, 1956, the Commissioner of Excise, Bihar directed the Deputy Commissioner, Singhbhum to realise from the appellant the deficit in the security deposits of his shops. This order was communicated to the appellant on December 7, 1956. On January 9, 1957, the appellant filed a petition before the Board of Revenue, praying for a revision of the order of the Excise Commissioner dated November 14, 1956. By order dated March 20, 1957, the Board of Revenue held that the merits of the appellant's case need not be examined at that stage, and observed that the order of the Excise Commissioner would constitute no bar to the appellant moving the Commissioner for considering the special circumstances, if any, of his case on merits and, for this purpose, it would be open to the appellant to move the Commissioner in an appropriate manner. Subsequently, the appellant moved the Excise Commissioner for reconsideration and setting aside of his previous order dated November 14, 1956. By his order dated March 5, 1958, the Commissioner of Excise, in supersession of his previous order, directed that in the special circumstances of the case, the security deposit in respect of the appellant's shops need.