In Brief
A liquor licensee in Kerala was successful in an auction for arrack shops in 1993 with a bid of ₹60 lakhs. After the license was cancelled due to non-payment of instalments, the State ran the shops directly for six months, collecting departmental management fees and excise duties. The State then demanded that the licensee pay the entire loss (over ₹109 lakhs), refusing to credit the amounts it had collected. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's judgment that the amended Rule 13—which made departmental management fees non-adjustable—could not apply retrospectively to contracts entered into before the amendment. The licensee was liable only for actual losses after crediting amounts collected by the State, not the full claimed loss.", <parameter name="cited_cases">[{"raw_citation": "Lucka v State of Kerala & Ors", "case_name": "Lucka v State of Kerala & Ors", "cited_year": "", "paragraph": "12, 13, 17, 20", "treatment": "followed", "treatment_by": "this_court", "treatment_quote": "In this case, it is evident that when the state initiated recovery proceedings it did not give credit of the amounts collected under the head of department management fee -as was required under pre-existing Rule 13. Its main contention before this court is that amounts collected as departmental management fee were not adjustable. In view of the decision in Lucka, there cannot be any dispute that contracts entered into before amendment of Rule 13-as in this case-were not to be treated as those transactions for which amounts were non- adjustable."}, {"raw_citation": "Commissioner of Income Tax v Vatika Township", "case_name": "Commissioner of Income Tax v Vatika Township", "cited_year": "", "paragraph": "14", "treatment": "relied", "treatment_by": "this_court", "treatment_quote": "In Commissioner of Income Tax v Vatika Township this court, speaking through a Constitution Bench, observed as follows: [paras 31-32 on presumption against retrospectivity and principle of 'fairness']"}, {"raw_citation": "Phillips vs. Eyre", "case_name": "Phillips vs. Eyre", "cited_year": "", "paragraph": "14", "treatment": "referred", "treatment_by": "reported"}, {"raw_citation": "Office Cherifien des Phosphates v. Yamashita-Shinnihon Steamship Co. Ltd.", "case_name": "Office Cherifien des Phosphates v. Yamashita-Shinnihon Steamship Co. Ltd.", "cited_year": "", "paragraph": "14", "treatment": "referred", "treatment_by": "reported"}, {"raw_citation": "Union of India v M.C. Ponnose", "case_name": "Union of India v M.C. Ponnose", "cited_year": "", "paragraph": "15", "treatment": "relied", "treatment_by": "this_court", "treatment_quote": "In Union of India v M.C. Ponnose this rule was spelt out in the following terms: [on inability of delegated legislation to operate retrospectively absent express words or necessary implication]"}, {"raw_citation": "Hukum Chand v Union of India", "case_name": "Hukum Chand v Union of India", "cited_year": "", "paragraph": "16", "treatment": "referred", "treatment_by": "this_court"}, {"raw_citation": "Regional Transport Officer v Associated Transport Madras", "case_name": "Regional Transport Officer v Associated Transport Madras", "cited_year": "", "paragraph": "16", "treatment": "referred", "treatment_by": "this_court"}, {"raw_citation": "Federation of Indian Mineral Industries v Union of India", "case_name": "Federation of Indian Mineral Industries v Union of India", "cited_year": "", "paragraph": "16", "treatment": "referred", "treatment_by": "this_court"}, {"raw_citation": "Union of India v G.S. Chatha Rice Mills", "case_name": "Union of India v G.S. Chatha Rice Mills", "cited_year": "", "paragraph": "16", "treatment": "referred", "treatment_by": "this_court"}]
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