JUDGMENT

The captioned writ petitions are materially connected in respect of the Port restrictions imposed by the Union Government as per the notifications dated 20.02.2007, 29.08.2007 and 10.07.2007, whereby the petitioners who are importers and traders of Betel Nuts were restricted to import Betel Nuts through Mangalore Port. In fact, all the writ petitions were dismissed by this Court as per the judgment dated 02.11.2010, on the ground that the Director General of Foreign Trade did not have power to issue any such notifications, whereas the power is vested only with the Central Government to issue notifications under the provisions of the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 (in short, 'the Act, 1992') read with paragraph 2.1 of the Foreign Trade Policy - 2004-2009, amending Schedule-1 (Imports)of the Import Trade Control(HS)

Classifications of Export and Import Items, 2004-2009.

2. However, the said judgment was interfered with by a Division Bench of this Court in W.A.No.480 of 2011 and other connected writ appeals. It was after verifying the files relating to the issuance of notifications, the Division Bench had come to the conclusion that in fact the notificati