(Per G.S. Patel, J.)

1. On 14th October 2014, notice was issued to the Respondents for final disposal of this Petition at the admission stage returnable on 24th November 2015. Hence: Rule. Respondents waive service. By consent, Rule is made returnable forthwith and Petition called out and taken up for hearing and final disposal.

2. The challenge in this Petition is to the legality and validity of the Maharashtra Solvent Raffinate and Slop (Licensing) Order 2007 (“the impugned Order”; “the State Order”).

3. The Petitioner is an association and a society of manufacturers of paints of various kinds and descriptions. The Petitioner Association’s members are all small scale units. They manufacture paint formulations by combining various raw materials in different proportions to get the desired quality of paint. The relevant raw materials fall into several groups, such as film forming materials, pigments and extenders, solvents and additives. Many of these are petroleum byproducts.

4. Petroleum products are covered by Entry 53 of List-I of the Constitution of India. The item