Shri. Laxmi Vividoddesha Primary v. the Government of Karnataka
Natural justice – Fair price shop licence
Case brief
What is this about?
Single-judge writ decision (certiorari, GM-PDS) quashing cancellation of a fair price shop licence for breach of natural justice. Key propositions: (i) an order entailing civil consequences cannot be passed without pre-decisional notice; (ii) violation of principles of natural justice renders the order unsustainable regardless of underlying reasons; (iii) remedy is quashment coupled with a direction to redo the process after notice and reply. Search terms: fair price shop licence; cancellation without notice; natural justice; civil consequences; PDS; Karnataka Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs; Karnataka Co-operative Societies Act; Articles 226/227; writ of certiorari; fresh notice and hearing. Caveat: the judgment contains internally inconsistent dates (grant 22.01.2024 vs 24.01.2024; cancellation 06.01.2025 vs 20.01.2025) and two printings of the impugned order number ('245:202324' and '245:2023-24').