Union Of India & Ors vs M/S. N.S. Rathnam & Sons

The Supreme Court upheld the Division Bench's ruling that Notifications Nos. 102/87-CE and 103/87-CE, which exempted excise duty on iron and steel scrap from ship breaking only for those who paid customs duty at Rs.1400 per LDT, violated Article 14 of the Constitution. The Court established that excluding those who paid customs duty at a lesser rate was arbitrary and discriminatory. Consequently, the Court affirmed the entitlement of the excluded category to the benefits of the notifications, thereby reinforcing the principle of equality before the law.