HIGH COURT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR AT

JAMMU

OWP No. 292/2008

CMP Nos. 574/2008 & 448/2008

Date of Decision: 10.10.2008

K. P. Paper

v.

State of J&K and Ors.

CORAM:

MR. JUSTICE J. P. SINGH, JUDGE.

Appearing counsel:

For Petitioner(s)

: Mr. Rohit Kapoor, Advocate.

For Respondent(s) : M/s A.H.Naik, AG & A.H.Qazi, AAG.

i)

Whether approved for reporting

in Press/Journal/Media : Yes

ii)

Whether to be reported

in Digest/Journal

: Yes

___________________________________________________________

Petitioner has filed this writ petition seeking issuance of a writ of

mandamus against the respondents commanding them to grant it

Permanent Registration and all those benefits as may be available to

Industrial Units under the Industrial Policy of the State of Jammu and

Kashmir.

M/s K.P.Paper, initially a sole proprietorship concern, which later

came to be constituted as a partnership firm, applied to the respondents

seeking permission to set up an Industrial Unit for manufacturing paper

as Medium and Large Scale Industry. Its proposal to set up an Industrial

Unit was approved by the Apex Project Clearance Committee (APCC for

short) constituted in terms of the Industrial Policy of the State, and a

Provisional Certificate was issued to it by the Jammu and Kashmir State

Industrial Corporation Limited, the Nodal Officer notified as such under

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the Single Window Clearance System contemplated by the Industrial

Policy of the State.

The petitioner had initially taken land on lease hold basis in village

Barwal of District Kathua. It, however, with the permission of the

respondents-authorities and APCC, shifted its project site from Barwal to

village Chak Ramchand in District Kathua. Provisional Registration

Certificate for setting up a Medium and Large Scale Industry was,

accordingly, granted to it for the changed location.

Toll tax exemption on import of building material needed for

setting up the Unit too was granted to the petitioner by the Deputy Excise

Commissioner, Lakhanpur on the recommendations of Director

Industries and Commerce, J&K Government, Exhibition Ground Jammu.

Petitioner is stated to have invested approximately Thirty One

Crores of rupees in setting up the Unit and has been paying an amount of

Rupees Twenty Lacs per month as interest thereon.

According to the petitioner, the Unit stands registered with the

Sales Tax and other authorities and all requisite formalities to set up and

commission the Medium and Large Scale Industrial Unit for manufacture

of paper thus stands completed. The Jammu and Kashmir State Pollution

Control Board too had granted its consent under Sections 25/26 of the

Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Section 21 of

the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 to establish the

Unit at village Chak Ramchand Tehsil and District Kathua. The

respondents, according to the petitioner had, however, refused Permanent

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Registration to it thereby stalling the whole process of commissioning the

Unit.

Aggrieved by the refusal of the respondents to grant it Permanent

Registration for setting up and commissioning its Medium and Large

Scale Industry, petitioner has approached this Court invoking its extra

ordinary civil writ jurisdiction to issue a command to the respondents to

grant it Permanent Registration and all those benefits which may be

available to it under the Industrial Policy of the State.

Contesting

petitioner’s

case

for

providing

it

Permanent

Registration and making it available all those benefits which are

available to Industrial Unit under the Industrial Policy of the State, the

State-respondents have opposed the grant of reliefs to the petitioner on

twin grounds, viz.

(1) Being a non-permanent resident of the State, the petitioner was

required to