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2019 (6) TMI 800 - GUJARAT HIGH COURTRenewal and extension of the petitioners’ Letter of Approval - permission to petitioner to function within the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) for manufacture of plastic bags etc. out of plastic waste/scrap - HELD THAT:- It is the Central Government which would frame the policy and the Board would be bound by the directions of the Central Government which are to be given in writing. The fact that sub-section (5) of section 9 of the SEZ Act specifically provides for policies to be framed by the Central Government means that the general provisions contained in sub-section (1) of section 9 would not include the power to take policy decisions. Therefore, the Board while discharging its duties and functions, is bound by the policies framed by the Central Government, but has no power to frame policies on its own. The Board, therefore, is not a policy making body but only an implementing one. In view of the fact that the petitioners are similarly situated to the other two units which were granted extension of Letter of Approval by the Board, the Board had no option but to grant extension of the Letter of Approval to the petitioners, it has now come up with a totally new case by taking shelter behind rule 18(4) of the SEZ Rules, reading into it a policy decision to phase out units which were already established in the SEZ and the petitioners’ case is the first case for implementing such so called policy. It appears that the new stand adopted by the Board for not considering the case of the petitioners, is presumably to wriggle out of the above order passed by this court. Considering the manner in which the petitioners’ case has been either deferred or rejected on one ground or the other, while similarly situated parties have been granted extension of Letter of Approval, it appears that the Board for reasons best known to it is not inclined to grant approval to the petitioners without any valid reasons for such refusal - the decision of the Board taken in its meeting held on 5th October, 2018 rejecting the request of the petitioners for renewal of Letter of Approval for extension of recycling of plastic waste scrap, suffers from the vice of being discriminatory, arbitrary and capricious and flies in the face of the order dated 8th May, 2018 of this court, and cannot be sustained. Petition allowed - decided in favor of petitioner.
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