1. ' The petitioner-company primarily manufactures cooking oil and has also installed a plant for the extraction of cotton-seed oil. It was using the cotton-seed oil for the manufacture of cooking oil in their plant. They were restrained from doing so and the petitioner has filed a constitutional petition for the issuance of a direction to permit the petitioner company to use their cotton-seed oil for the preparation of the cooking oil and not to force it to sell their cotton-seed oil to a third party.
2. ' It was, however, prayed in the main petition that the respondents be restrained from forcing the petitioner to supply their finished product to the Ghee Corporation of Pakistan or any other person or authority till the disposal of their writ petition. An interim restraint order was issued to the said effect on 7-11-1984 when the writ petition was admitted for hearing.
3. ' Mr. lzharul Haq, Advocate appearing for the respondents has contended that in accordance with the recent Notification No. S.R.O. 355 (1)/80, dated 18-3-1980, the restraint order must be vacated because it has superseded the earlier notification, dated the 5th of August, 1974. The earlier notification No. S.R.O. 1052(1)/74, dated the 5th of August, 1974, states that no producer of cotton- seed oil shall sell any quantity of the said oil to any person other than a Hydrogenerated Vegetable Oil Factory designed for the purpose by the Punjab Industrial Development Board, Lahore, the Board of Management (Sind), Karachi or the Board of Management (Vegetable Ghee), Peshawar as the case may be. In the said notification, the price of cotton-seed oil was also fixed at Rs.200 per maund. The price of the inferior grade of cotton-seed oil was to be determined according to the specifications referred to in para. (b) of the notification. In view of this notification, the petitioner- company was not selling any quantity of cotton-seed oil to any person, but was using it for its own purpose for the manufacture of cooking oil. They were, therefore, granted a temporary prohibitory order against the respondents. Notification, dated 18-3-1980 refered to above was not brought to the notice of this Court earlier. The background of the issuance of this notification is stated to be that the extractors of the cotton-seed oil had installed their small cooking plants and in that garb they were not selling oil to the Ghee Corporation of Pakistan and others. By virtue of the recent notification, dated 18-3-1980, the producers of cotton-seed oil were not only restrained from selling the oil except to the Ghee Corporation of Pakistan and their nominee, but they were restrained from consuming the cotton-seed oil themselves. In accordance with this notification, the petitioner- company cannot use its cotton-seed oil and utilise the same in their own cooking oil plant.
4. ' The learned counsel for the petitioner-company has, however, referred to the application Annexure 'B' and the order of the Minister thereon, dated 20-6-1983 which reads as under:- "(Please exempt them from supplying oil to G.C.P.)"
5. ' This note has been addressed to the Additional Secretary. It was contended that the Incharge Minister had granted exemption to the petitioner-company from supplying oil to the Ghee Corporation of Pakistan. I do not countenance this argument because the Minister of Industries, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad had just recommended the case of the petitioner for the requisite exemption and it was for the department to grant or refuse exemption and the Minister had not passed a final order. It may also be noted that it was not. shown to me under what law the Minister could pass an order in contravention of the notification issued by the department under sections 3 and 6 of the Price Control and Prevention of Profiteering and Hoarding Act (XXIX of 1977).
6. It follows that in accordance with the recent notification, dated 18-3-1980, the petitioner-company could not make out a prima facie or an arguable case. The balance of convenience does incline in their favour, but they do not suffer an irreparable loss as the value of the cotton-seed oil to be used in their cooking oil plant is calculable in terms of money by simple mathematical formula. 1, therefore, vacate my earlier order, dated 7-11-1984.