JUDGMENT

G.P. Mathur, J.-This appeal by special leave has been preferred by Union of India against the judgment and order dated 22.9.1999 of a Division Bench of Madras High Court in a writ appeal whereby the order passed by a learned Single Judge on 22.9.1998 directing payment of Rs. 25 lakhs in addition to the sum of Rs. 10 lakhs already paid by way of reward for giving information to custom authorities was partly modified.

2. The respondent C. Krishna Reddy filed a writ petition in the High Court of Madras claiming an amount of Rs. 1,71,43,272/- by way of reward for having given information to the concerned officers of the Department of Customs and Central Excise. The case set up in the writ petition, in brief, was that M/s. Sanjeevani Fodder Products Pvt. Ltd., (hereinafter referred as Sanjeevani ) and M/s. FOMETA India Machines Pvt. Ltd., (hereinafter referred as FOMETA ) had evaded Customs duty amounting to approximately Rs.3 crores by contravening the conditions of ad hoc exemption Order No. 103/87 dated 30.3.1987 as amended. M/s. Sanjeevani had got the said exemption order from the Government of India exempting 50 Fodder Production Units to be imported by them subject to th