Judgment

SIKRI, J.:- The appellant, Durga Prashad, filed a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution against the respondents. The High Court of Punjab, Circuit Bench, Delhi, dismissed the petition in limine. Thereupon the appellant applied for a certificate under Article 133 (1) (a) of the Constitution. The High Court gave this certificate on the ground that the value of the subject-matter directly involved in the petition exceeds Rupees 20,000/-

2. In our opinion this appeal must fail on the ground that the petition under Article 226 of the Constitution was filed after great delay. The relevant facts are as under. The appellant was carrying on business of export and import, and exported goods of the value of Rupees 8,10,325/-, F. O. B. value, Rupees 8,03,530.45, during the period August 25, 1958 to September 29, 1958. On November 12, 1958, the appellant applied for an import licence for art silk yarn of the F. O. B. value of Rs. 8,03,530.45 Np. under the Export Promotion Scheme. The Export Promotion Scheme was discontinued with effect from March 6, 1959. On October 9, 1959, import licence of the value of Rs. 3,27,841/- only was issued to the appellant by the Joint Chief Control