JUDGMENT
1. Heard the ld. Counsel for the petitioner and also the ld. Standing Counsel for the respondents.
2. In view of the facts and circumstances of the case, the present petition is being disposed of finally even before the exchange of the affidavits. The petitioner has challenged the Notification No. 223/87-CE dated 22.9.1987, and further claimed benefits under Notification No. 175/86-CE dated 1.3.1986.
3. An identical question raised in this Writ Petition has been decided in a bunch of the Writ Petitions decided by this Court being Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 1261 of 1987 in the case of Machine Well Engineers, Ghaziabad and Anr. v. Union of India, in which the impugned notification was held to be discriminatory and arbitrary, and a direction was issued to grant the petitioner benefits under Notification No. 175/86-CE dated 1.3.1986 by ignoring subsequent amendments. The order of this Court dated 10.8.1990 directing the petitioner to furnish bank guarantee for the amount of excise duty payable by him on the clearance of the goods by the Assistant Collector, Central Excise, Ghaziabad, Stands discharged.
4. The Writ Petition is allowed. There will be no order as to costs.