( 1 ) THIS appeal and Appeal No. 72 of 1973 arise out of the judgment and order of Sabyasachi Mukharji, J. , D/- 13-7-1972 on an application under Article 226 of the Constitulion. The petitioners before the trial court were Messrs. Hindustan Motors Ltd. and Rajendra Prosad Jhunjhunwala, Vice-President (Finance) of the Hindustan Motors Ltd. The respondents were the Collector of Customs and Central Excise, West Bengal, several Customs Officials and the Union of India. In this judgment we propose to cover both the appeals. The appellants in the present appeal are the respondents in Appeal No. 72 of 1973. Let us discuss the relevant facts of the case. On December 15, 1967, an import licence was issued in favour of Hindustan Motors Ltd. , for importing primary nickel. Items Nos. 1 and 2 of this licence are-- (1) 'country from which consigned' and (2) 'country of origin. ' Against the aforesaid items there are blank spaces and thereafter the words 'all countries excluding Union of South Africa and South West Africa' have been printed. In the first blank space against 'country from which consigned' the following countries have been type-written "ussr, Poland, G