Law: Punjab Excise Act, 1914

Section: 43

(Punjab Excise Act (1 of 1914)]......S 43 read with Punjab Liquor License Rules, Rule 5'12-Refusal to renew license -Licensee's objections not heard-Whether writ of mandamus could be issued-Government of India Act, 1935, S. 223-A. No licensee can as of right claim to have his license renewed and consequently rule 5'12 on which reliance was placed on behalf of the petitioner, must be regarded merely in the nature of a direction to the subordinate officers of the Government while dealing with such cases and did not do away with the discretion of Government in with­holding renewal of any particular license at their will. If there is any conflict between the rules framed under the Act and the statutory provisions themselves it is obvious that the statute must prevail and the rules must give way to it. In this case the Government intimated its decision not to renew the license, without first issuing notice to licensee as directed by rule 5'12. Held, under section 43, Excise Act, Government had dis­cretion not to renew the license and rule 5'12 being of the nature of a direction, no case was made out for issue of mandamus. ORDER S. A. RAHMAN, C. J.-This order will dispose of a petition by Muhammad Asghar praying for the issue of a writ of mandamus under section 223-A of the Constitution Act against the Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Punjab, Lahore A rule nisi was issued by me in this case sitting in Single Bench, but the case has now come up before a Division Bench consisting of Kaikaus J. and myself. The petitioner's case as laid in the petition is that he along with one, Sikandar Khan, was granted a liquor licence for the vend of foreign liquor at Sargodha in form L2. This was a temporary licence issued by the Excise and Taxation Commis­sioner, Punjab, with effect from the 1st August, 1954, and was to terminate on the 30th September, 1954. On the 20th of August, 1954, the Commissioner, Excise and Taxation, Punjab, wrote to the petitioner informing him that Government had decided not to renew his license beyond the date of termina­tion of the previous license. It is contended that though the intimation talked of a Government decision, yet it was the Excise and…

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