Judgment

BHARGAVA, J.: - The respondent, Gopal Chandra Khound, is the holder of a licence of a country liquor shop issued by the appellant. Sub-Divisional Officer and Collector, Shivasagar. The Superintendent of Excise of the Sivsagar Sub-Division, in which the shop of the respondent is situated, Inspected some liquor shops in the month of June. 1965 and discovered that some of the bottles in the shops were not properly sealed. The covers could be turned all round without detaching them from the bottles and without breaking the seal. There could also be seepage from the covers if the bottles were turned up side down. He felt that this left a scope for tampering as well as deterioration in strength of the liquor in storage beyond the permissible limits; and consequently, a few days later on 24th June, 1965, he issued a letter to the Officer-in charge, Warehouses, Jorhat and Nazira, which were issuing the sealed bottles, to take all possible steps to secure the marked closures properly and to ensure that no sealed bottles of liquor with loose closures were issued from the warehouses. A copy of this letter was endorsed as a circular to all the lessees of the liquor shops, including the