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2023 (1) TMI 114 - HC - CustomsMaintainability of the PIL - Imposition of fee for availing benefit of Online Queue Management System upon the transporters/exporters exporting their goods to Bangladesh from various international border checkposts located at Indo-Bangladesh Border - validity of notifications dated 12th of July, 2022 and 29th of September, 2022 - HELD THAT:- The record reflects that the writ petitioner is a practicing advocate of this Court unconnected with the business of export. A perusal of the writ petition reveals that in this public interest petition, cause of the exporters has been taken up by projecting the problems which may be faced by them on account of imposition of fee by the impugned notification. The issue of quid pro quo has also been raised which is mainly concerning the exporters. Nothing prevents the exporters to approach the competent Court and raise their grievances. Learned Advocate General has also raised the plea that the impugned levy infact has facilitated such exporters. No exporter is before this Court even in the representative capacity to ascertain this fact. A PIL on such an issue at the instance of an advocate practicing in this Court having no connection with the issue cannot be entertained especially when the affected persons are adequately well off to raise their personal cause in the appropriate judicial proceedings. So far as reliance of learned counsel for the petitioner in the matters of AHMEDABAD URBAN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY VERSUS SHARAD KUMAR JAYANTIKUMAR PASAWALLA AND OTHERS [1992 (5) TMI 175 - SUPREME COURT], FEDERATION OF INDIAN MINERAL INDUSTRIES & ORS. VERSUS UNION OF INDIA & ANR. [2017 (10) TMI 1519 - SUPREME COURT], these judgments relate to the issue of a levy without authority of law which is an issue on merit which can be raised by the effected parties in appropriate maintainable proceedings. Even if the rule of locus is relaxed in a PIL, yet the issue which is involved in the present petition cannot be permitted to be raised at the instance of a person totally unconnected with the issue and unaffected by the notification. The preliminary objection raised by the learned Advocate General is sustained and present public interest litigation is held to be not maintainable which is accordingly dismissed, however, making it clear that if any affected party approaches the competent Court, then the issue will be decided on its own merit without being influenced by any observation made in this order - Petition dismissed.
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