( 1 ) THE writ petitioner is a public limited company owned and controlled by the State Government of Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the largest and biggest manufacturers of sugar in this State. For the above purpose, it has set up various units of vacuum pan process factories in various parts of the State. One such unit is a Zaheerabad with which this writ petition is concerned. Production of sugar is leviable to central excise duty. In order to secure payment of excise duty on the manufactured sugar, the relevant Central Excise Rules of 1944 made under the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 insist upon observance of certain prescribed procedures for the removal of the manufactured sugar from and out of the godowns of the company which are required statutorily to be kept.

( 2 ) ON 24. 4. 1978, the Superintendent of the Central Excise (Audit) along with his staff during their routine visit of the above unit found two lorries, viz. , APG 953 and AAT 3790 loaded with 176 sugar bags intended to be transported to Co-operative Central Trading Society, Hyderabad and to Hyderabad Agricultural Co-operative Association Limited, Hyderabad. This transportation was found not to have