Page No.# 1/6 GAHC010100232025 2025:GAU-AS:8224 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : WP(C)/3422/2025 SRI DIPAK BORUAH S/O SRI BUBUL BORUAH, R/O VILL. DOOLAHAT, P.O. DOOLOHAT, P.S. LALUK, DIST. LAKHIMPUR, ASSAM, PIN 787023 VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM AND 5 ORS REPRESENTED BY THE COMMISSIONER AND SECY. TO THE GOVT. OF ASSAM, EXCISE DEPTT., DISPUR, GUWAHATI 6 2:THE COMMISSIONER OF EXCISE ASSAM HOUSE-FED COMPLEX DISPUR GHY-6. 3:THE DISTRICT COMMISSIONER LAKHIMPUR NORTH LAKHIMPUR 4:THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER LAKHIMPUR NORTH LAKHIMPUR 5:THE SUPERINTENDENT OF EXCISE LAKHIMPUR NORTH LAKHIMPUR 6:THE INSPECTOR OF EXCISE LAKHIMPUR DISTRICT (S) CIRCLE NORTH LAKHIMPU Page No.# 2/6 Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. J C GOGOI, MR B ISLAM,MR. H KAKATI Advocate for the Respondent : GA, ASSAM, SC, EXCISE DEPTT. BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MICHAEL ZOTHANKHUMA ORDER 20.06.2025 Heard Mr. J. C. Gogoi, learned counsel for the petitioner and Ms. U. Das, learned counsel for the respondent Nos. 3 & 4 as well as Mr. R. R. Gogoi, learned counsel for the Excise Department. 2. The petitioner’s counsel submits that the order dated 04.08.2022 passed by the Deputy Commissioner, Lakhimpur, cancelling the petitioner’s IMFL ON shop licence should be set aside, on the ground that no prior notice had been issued to the petitioner and without any inquiry report being furnished to the petitioner. 3. The facts of the case show that the petitioner had an IMFL ON shop licence for D.B. Restaurant and he had subsequently shifted his shop. The petitioner thereafter was issued a Show-Cause Notice dated 08.06.2022, on the ground that he had violated Section 58(b) of the Assam Excise Act, 2000. The petitioner submitted his reply dated 15.06.2022 to the Show-Cause Notice, wherein he admitted that he had violated the Excise Act, 2000. The contents of the Show-Cause Reply dated 15.06.2022 is reproduced hereinbelow, as follows: “Sub:- Reply to the show cause. Ref. Letter of the Deputy Commissioner dtd. 08-06-2022 Issued In No.- LEX/2022/131. Sir, Humble submissions that, I shri Dipak Boruah, son of Srl Bubul Boruah, Vill- Doolohat is an unemployed person. I had applied for opening an Indian Made Foreign Page No.# 3/6 Uquor Shop at Doolohat Tinlali, Nowboicha for my settlement before the department of Excise. In this behalf enquiry report was submitted by the Excise Department. Based on the said enquiry report the Government has approved the license to me. Accordingly, the deputy Commissioner has granted license to me. Due to ignorance of Excise Act I started a new house for my shop in the same Dag/near my restaurant. I also admit that I have not informed the department about the new shop. After this my shop was suspended by the Excise Department and asked to show cause as per above referred letter. Therefore, in this behalf I beg to Inform that due to my ignorance I have committed the said act which is in violation of Excise Act. In this behalf I beg apology and admit guilt and promise not to do such act in future. It is therefore humbly prayed for mercy by allowing me to reopen the said shop.” 4. The Deputy Commissioner, Lakhimpur thereafter cancelled the petitioner’s IMFL ON shop licence, vide order dated 04.08.2022. 5. The petitioner filed an appeal to the Assam Board of Revenue, wherein it was registered as Case No.3E(L)/2022. The Case No.3E(L)/2022 was disposed of by the Assam Board of Revenue on 19.10.2022, by remanding the matter to the Deputy Commissioner, Lakhimpur for disposing the case of the petitioner afresh, after the petitioner was informed of the conditions of the licence that was violated by the petitioner. 6. After complying with the order dated 19.10.2022 passed by the Assam Board of Revenue in Case No.3E(L)/2022, Show-Cause Notice dated 18.11.2022 was issued to the petitioner informing him that he had applied for an IMFL on licence by providing false information in his application and thereafter shifting the premises from the location on which the licence was given. The Show-Cause Notice dated 18.11.2022 also stated that a parallel inquiry had been conducted by the Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Magistrate through Jintu Sarma, ACS, Excise Branch Officer and Executive Magistrate, Lakhimpur and other officers Page No.# 4/6 which reveal that there was no restaurant at Dag No.771, Periodic Patta No.125, wherein flex banner had been put up showing “D.B. Restaurant”. 7. The copy of the Show-Cause Notice dated 18.11.2022 is reproduced hereinbelow, as follows : “Sub:- "Show Cause Notice" WHEREAS, IMFL "ON" License was issued to you by the undersigned through Foreign Liquor license no. 136 dated 24-04-2022, WHEREAS, In your affidavit submitted along with the application form for obtaining the license you claimed to own a running Restaurant named "D.B. Restaurant" on a plot of size 30 ft x 25 ft on Dag No.771 and Periodic Patta no. 125, WHEREAS, along with your application you also submitted a photograph which showed a flex banner hanging which mentioned "D.B. Restaurant" and few other photographs showing the restaurant to be operational, WHEREAS, 2 parallel enquiry was conducted by the undersigned through Sri Jintu Sarma, ACS, Excise Branch Officer and Executive Magistrate, Lakhimpur and through Sri. Chakradhar Bez, Inspector of Excise, North Lakhimpur (S) Circle reveals that there is no restaurant at Dag no. 771 and Periodic Patta n. 125, instead there is a grocery store run by Srl Bubul Brouah. WHEREAS, the enquiries further reveal the location shown by you as restaurant by showing flex banner in your application actually belongs to a restaurant named "Maa-Hotel" belonging to Sri Ananda Mandal and situated on a land schedule covering Dag No. 789 and Periodic Patta No. 244 and the photographs claimed by you in your application as part of your restaurant "D.B. Restaurant" actually are photographs of "Maa Hotel" AND WHEREAS, the enquiries further reveal that the premise at which you actually opened your "D.B. Restaurant" is shown by the enquiry to be completely different from the one mentioned in your application, AND THEREFORE, based on the above it can be concluded that you have provided false Information in your application and lied in through sworn affidavit and moreover shifted your premises from location on which the license was given, AND, THEREBY, you have knowingly misguided the authority by submitting false Information and deliberately violated the license condition s.no. Page No.# 5/6 III, Thus, you are hereby directed to submit reply in 7 days of receipt of this show-cause as to why action should not be taken as per license condition and relevant section of Assam Excise Act 2000 and other existing and applicable statutes.” 8. The petitioner filed his reply to the Show-Cause-Notice dated 18.11.2022, stating that he had applied for an IMFL ‘ON’ shop on land covered by Dag No.771 under Period Patta No.125. However, as Ananda Mandal, Son of Late Gyenendra Mandal had claimed the property as his own, the petitioner had shifted his IMFL ‘ON’ shop to another plot of land, after being told by the Lat Mandal that the plot adjacent Dag No.771 was his land. The petitioner thereafter stated that there was no malafides on the part of the petitioner and accordingly prayed that he may be allowed to shift his liquor vend to his actual land. 9. The Deputy Commissioner, Lahimpur thereafter issued order dated 31.12.2022, by holding that the petitioner had intentionally provided wrong information in his application form and as such, the petitioner’s licence was cancelled under Section 58(b) and Section 30(c) of the Assam Excise Act, 2000. The petitioner thereafter put the order dated 31.12.2022 issued by the Deputy Commissioner, Lahimpur under challenge by way of WP(C) 1745/2023. This Court dismissed WP(C) 1745/2023, vide judgment and order dated 07.06.2024, by holding that the petitioner had illegally obtained his licence by misleading the authorities by using fraudulent means and as such, there was no reason to interfere with the cancellation of his licence. 10. Being aggrieved, the petitioner filed WA 287/2024 before the Division Page No.# 6/6 Bench. WA 287/2024 was dismissed, vide order dated 28.08.2024. The petitioner has now come to this Court again on the ground that the order dated 31.12.2022 passed by the Deputy Commissioner, Lakhimpur cancelling the petitioner’s IMFL ON shop licence was based on a false enquiry report dated 08.07.2022, which was not furnished to the petitioner. 11. On considering the fact that the making of the enquiry report made by Jintu Sarma, ACS was reflected in the Show-Cause Notice dated 18.11.2022 and as the issue had been laid to rest, in terms of the facts stated above, this Court does not find any reason to re-open a closed issue due to the above ground. As the petitioner had admitted his fraudulent act and due to the decision of the Single & Division Bench of this Court, which has attained finality as on date, no grounds for interfering with the order dated 04.08.2022 has been made out. 12. The writ petition is accordingly dismissed. 13. In view of the petitioner having filed a frivolous case, wasting the time of this Court, cost of Rs.5,000/- is imposed upon the petitioner. The cost amount should be deposited with the Registry within 2 (two) weeks, which shall thereafter be transferred to the Assam State Legal Services Authority. JUDGE Comparing Assistant