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SC declines to stay HC verdict on IMFL licence

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI July 30. The Supreme Court today declined to stay a judgment of the Madras High Court directing the Tamil Nadu Government to renew the licences of about 7,000 IMFL shops for the excise year 2002-2003 from August 1.

When a Bench comprising Justice M.B. Shah and Justice H.K. Sema declined to stay the impugned judgment during `mention time', senior counsel for the State, C.S. Vaidyanathan, made a submission that the licences would be renewed for 15 days from August 1.

The Bench recorded this submission and directed listing of the special leave petition (SLP) filed by the State on August 9.

In its SLP, the Tamil Nadu Government submitted that the G.O. dated July 8 deleting the `renewal clause' was a subordinate legislation brought about by a change of policy to which the doctrine of estoppel or legitimate expectation would not arise.

The Government submitted that the rules as they stood prior to the G.O. did not confer an automatic right of renewal as even in the earlier G.O. dated June 22, 2001, which laid down the policy for three years, there was no indication for renewal at all.

Also no assurance had been given by the Government to the IMFL shops that their licences would be renewed or that the law would not be changed.

It further said that the directions issued by the High Court would cause serious financial loss to the State both from the point of view of complete realisation of the privilege amount in respect of all shops as well as substantial losses on account of inability pleaded by the existing licensees to lift the stock.

Contending that several important questions of law were involved in the SLP, the Government prayed for setting aside the impugned judgment dated July 24 and an interim stay of its operation.

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