( 1 ) THE appellant herein submitted an application to the Commissioner of Excise, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, requesting him to issue a letter of intent in Form B-5 for setting up a factory for manufacture of beer. In pursuance thereof, the Commissioner of Excise issued a letter of intent by his order dated 11/1/1993 mentioning therein the condition that the appellant should furnish a security deposit of Rs. 50,000. 00 to the Commissioner of Excise within one month from the date of issue of letter of intent. Accordingly, the appellant submitted a demand draft in favour of the Commissioner of Excise, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad for a sum of Rs. 50,000. 00 payable by Union Bank of India on 5/2/1993. It appears that instead of delivering the said demand draft at the counter meant for the Commissioner of Excise, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, the appellants representative delivered it at the counter of the Director of Distilleries and Breweries, Andhra Pradesh, which was adjacent to the said counter. Since the demand draft was not received by the Commissioner of Excise till 4/3/1993, the State Government by order dated 4/3/1993 cancelled the letter of intent issued to the appellant. The appe