Allowed

Babita Devi v. The State Of Bihar and Ors.

Patna HC15 Jan 2015CWJC/16083/2014

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

This judgment sets aside multiple orders cancelling licenses for running shops under the Public Distribution System. The High Court held that the Licensing Authority acted illegally by cancelling licenses solely based on newspaper reports without providing a reasonable opportunity of hearing to the petitioners as mandated by the Bihar Fair Price Shop Order, 2007. The matter was remanded for a fres

What did the court decide?

Orders of cancellation set aside; matters remanded to Licensing Authority for fresh hearing; licenses of petitioners restored.

Babita Devi Vs The State Of Bihar and Ors. — Service and Employment | Patna HC (2015)

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

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Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.15767 of 2014

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=========================================================== Smt. Geeta Bharati, wife of Sukhnandan Kumar, resident of Mohalla - Ashok Nagar, Ward No. 15, P.O. - Kosi College, P.S. - Chitragupta Nagar, District - Khagaria (Bihar). .... .... Petitioner/s Versus 1. The State of Bihar through the District Magistrate, Khagaria. 2. The District Magistrate, Khagaria. 3. The Sub-Divisional Officer, Khagaria. 4. The District Supply Officer, Khagaria. 5. The Block Supply Officer, Khagaria. .... .... Respondent/s With =========================================================== Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 15775 of 2014 =========================================================== Smt. Ruby Bharati Kaushal, wife of Rakesh Kumar Singh, resident of Mohalla - Chitragupta Nagar, Ward No. 16, P.S. - Chitragupta Nagar, District - Khagaria (Bihar). .... .... Petitioner/s Versus 1. The State of Bihar through the District Magistrate, Khagaria. 2. The District Magistrate, Khagaria. 3. The Sub-Divisional Officer, Khagaria. 4. The District Supply Officer, Khagaria. 5. The Block Supply Officer, Khagaria. .... .... Respondent/s With =========================================================== Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 15807 of 2014 =========================================================== Navin Kumar Sinha, son of Ram Chandra Prasad Sinha, resident of Mohalla - Chitragupta Nagar, Ward No. 14, P.S. - Chitragupta Nagar, District - Khagaria (Bihar). .... .... Petitioner/s Versus 1. The State of Bihar through the District Magistrate, Khagaria. 2. The District Magistrate, Khagaria. 3. The Sub-Divisional Officer, Khagaria. 4. The District Supply Officer, Khagaria. 5. The Block Supply Officer, Khagaria. .... .... Respondent/s With =========================================================== Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 15822 of 2014 =========================================================== Umesh Kumar Son of Late Ragho Sav, resident of Mohalla - Hazipur, Ward No. 20,

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Patna High Court CWJC No.15767 of 2014 dt.15-01-2015

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P.O. + P.S. - Khagaria, District - Khagaria (Bihar). .... .... Versus	Petitioner/s
1. The State of Bihar through the District Magistrate, Khagaria. 2. The District Magistrate, Khagaria. 3. The Sub-Divisional Officer, Khagaria. 4. The District Supply Officer, Khagaria. 5. The Block Supply Officer, Khagaria. .... .... With ================================================== Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 15830 of 2014 ==================================================	Respondent/s ========= =========
Pankaj Kumar Chaudhary, son of Late Laxmi Chaudhary, reside Hazipur, Kachahari Road, Ward No. 16, P.O. - Kosi, P.S. - Chitr District - Khagaria (Bihar). .... .... Versus	nt of Uttari agupt Nagar, Petitioner/s
1. The State of Bihar through the District Magistrate, Khagaria. 2. The District Magistrate, Khagaria. 3. The Sub-Divisional Officer, Khagaria. 4. The District Supply Officer, Khagaria. 5. The Block Supply Officer, Khagaria. .... .... With	Respondent/s
================================================== Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 15831 of 2014 ==================================================	========= =========
Pratap Mehta, son of Late Bhupi Mehta, resident of Mohalla - Samer No. 25, P.S. - Chitragupt Nagar, Khagaria, District - Khagaria (Bihar). .... .... Versus	Nagar, Ward Petitioner/s
1. The State of Bihar through the District Magistrate, Khagaria. 2. The District Magistrate, Khagaria. 3. The Sub-Divisional Officer, Khagaria. 4. The District Supply Officer, Khagaria. 5. The Block Supply Officer, Khagaria. .... .... With	Respondent/s
================================================== Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 15846 of 2014	=========
================================================== Ashok Kumar, Son of Sri Brahamdeo Prasad, Resident of Hazipur Road, Ward No. - 18, P.O. - Khagaria, P.S. - Khagaria, District - Khag .... .... Versus	======== Post Office aria (Bihar). Petitioner/s
1. The State of Bihar through the District Magistrate, Khagaria. 2. The District Magistrate, Khagaria. 3. The Sub-Divisional Officer, Khagaria.

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Patna High Court CWJC No.15767 of 2014 dt.15-01-2015

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The District Supply Officer, Khagaria. 5. The Block Supply Officer, Khagaria. .... .... Respondent/s With =========================================================== Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 15852 of 2014 =========================================================== Ganesh Kumar, son of Late Kamleshwar Thakur, resident of Mohalla - Hazipur, Ward No.17, P.O. Kosi, P.S. Khagaria, District - Khagaria (Bihar). .... .... Petitioner/s Versus 1. The State of Bihar through the District Magistrate, Khagaria. 2. The District Magistrate, Khagaria. 3. The Sub - Divisional Officer, Khagaria. 4. The District Supply Officer, Khagaria. 5. The Block Supply Officer, Khagaria. .... .... Respondent/s With =========================================================== Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 16031 of 2014 =========================================================== Rakesh Kumar, son of Late Tej Narayan Prasad, resident of Post Office Road, Ward No. 20, P.O.+ P.S.- Khagaria, District- Khagaria (Bihar). .... .... Petitioner/s Versus 1. The State of Bihar through the District Magistrate, Khagaria. 2. The District Magistrate, Khagaria. 3. The Sub-Divisional Officer, Khagaria. 4. The District Supply Officer, Khagaria. 5. The Block Supply Officer, Khagaria. .... .... Respondent/s With =========================================================== Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 16083 of 2014 =========================================================== Babita Devi, wife of Shushil Kumar Verma, resident of Mohalla- Samer Nagar, Ward no. 25, P.S.- Chitragupt Nagar, Khagaria, District- Khagaria (Bihar). .... .... Petitioner/s Versus 1. The State of Bihar through the District Magistrate, Khagaria. 2. The District Magistrate, Khagaria. 3. The Sub-Divisional Officer, Khagaria. 4. The District Supply Officer, Khagaria. 5. The Block Supply Officer, Khagaria. .... .... Respondent/s =========================================================== Appearance : (In CWJC No. 15767 of 2014) For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Nawal Kishore Agrawal, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Sanjeet Kumar

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Patna High Court CWJC No.15767 of 2014 dt.15-01-2015

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For the Respondent/s : Mr. Vinay Kirti Singh, GA-3 (In CWJC No. 15775 of 2014) For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Sanjeet Kumar For the Respondent/s : Mr. Kaushal Kumar Jha, AAG-14 (In CWJC No. 15807 of 2014) For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Sanjeet Kumar For the Respondent/s : Mr. Ajit Pratap Singh, SC-15 (In CWJC No. 15822 of 2014) For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Sanjeet Kumar For the Respondent/s : Mr. Yogendra Pd. Sinha, AAG-15 (In CWJC No. 15830 of 2014) For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Sanjeet Kumar For the Respondent/s : Mr. Shyam Kishore Sharma, GA-1 (In CWJC No. 15831 of 2014) For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Sanjeet Kumar For the Respondent/s : Mr. Mr. Ashok Priyadarsi, GA-4 (In CWJC No. 15846 of 2014) For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Sanjeet Kumar For the Respondent/s : Mr. Arvind Kumar No.1, SC-13 (In CWJC No. 15852 of 2014) For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Sanjeet Kumar For the Respondent/s : Mr. Prabhat Kumar Singh, SC-12 (In CWJC No. 16031 of 2014) For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Sanjeet Kumar For the Respondent/s : Mr. Prasoon Sinha, GA-2 (In CWJC No. 16083 of 2014) For the Petitioner/s : Mr Sanjeet Kumar For the Respondent/s : Mr. Anshuman, SC14 =========================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE JYOTI SARAN ORAL JUDGMENT

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Date: 15-01-2015

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Mr. Nawal Kishore Agrawal, learned senior counsel and

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Mr. Sanjeet Kumar learned counsel appearing for the petitioners and the counsel for the State have been heard in these writ petitions.

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Since in all these writ petitions cyclostyled orders of cancellation of licence of the petitioners have been passed by the Licensing Authority –cum- Sub-Divisional Officer, Khagaria hence they have been taken up together and with the consent of the parties they are being disposed of at the stage of admission itself by

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Patna High Court CWJC No.15767 of 2014 dt.15-01-2015

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this judgment.

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The petitioners are holders of licence for running a shop under the public distribution system issued under the provisions of the Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2001 (hereinafter referred to as „the Control Order) read with the Bihar Fair Price Shop Order, 2007. The licences of these petitioners have been cancelled on the basis of a newspaper publication alleging irregularities in running of their respective shops.

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Mr. Agrawal, learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners while questioning the impugned order of cancellation of licence issued in a cyclostyled manner, has relied upon Clause 7(ii) of Bihar Fair Price Shop Order, 2007 issued under the Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2001, to submit that the provision specifically creates obligation on the Licensing Authority to give a reasonable opportunity to the licensee against a proposed cancellation and it is only after such opportunity is granted and the licensee is heard in the matter that any order can be passed. Learned counsel has referred to the order of cancellation impugned in the different writ petitions to submit that it is manifest therefrom that the order of cancellation has been passed on the basis of irregularities reported in a Hindi Daily, namely, „Dainik Jagaran‟ against these petitioners.

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Patna High Court CWJC No.15767 of 2014 dt.15-01-2015

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I have heard learned counsel for the parties and I have perused the materials on records.

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The factual position in each of the cases is that the licences of the petitioners have been cancelled simply on the basis of the newspaper reports. The legal position is that in the circumstances where the licensing authority proposes to cancel the licence of a licensee holding licence for running a shop under the Public Distribution System then before any order is passed, an opportunity has to be provided to the licensee in terms of Clause 7(ii) of the Fair Price Shop Order, 2007 issued under the Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2001. The fact that no such opportunity was provided to the petitioners is manifest from the respective orders of cancellation and cannot be contested by learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respondents. The order is plainly indefensible.

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Since the order of cancellation is almost identical this Court would reproduce the relevant extract of the grounds on which the order of cancellation has been passed as impugned in CWJC No.15767 of 2014 which in its operative portion runs as follows:

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“…. ….. …. ….. …..

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vr% nSfud lekpij i= es a izdkf’kr lekpkj ds vkyksd es a okMZ l a 0&15 ds tu forj.k iz.kkyh fodzsrk Jherh xhrk Hkkjrh ds n~okjk miHkksDrkvks a ls vf/kd nj ysus ,o a de otu nsus ds vkjksi es a Jherh xhrk Hkkjrh] tu forj.k iz.kkyh fodzsrk] uxj ifj"kn] okMZ u a -&15 ds vuqKfIr l a [;k 26K/2007 dks rRdky

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Patna High Court CWJC No.15767 of 2014 dt.15-01-2015

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izHkko ls jnn dh tkrh gSA iz[k a M vkiwfrZ inkf/kdkjh] [kxfM;k dks funs’k fn;k tkrk gS fd lEcfU/kr tu forj.k i.kkyh fodzsrk ds fo#n/k 7 EC ds rgr~ izkFkfedh ntZ djuk lqfuf’pr dh tk;A”

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Identical orders passed are put to challenge in other writ

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petitions.

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Clause 7(ii) of „the Order‟ runs as follows:

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“ 7. Suspension and Cancellation of the licence:-

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(ii) If any licensee contravenes any provision or any terms and conditions of license or any of his duties and responsibilities or any order of State Government then without prejudice to any other action that may be taken against him under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (Central Act 10 of 1955), his license may be cancelled by the Licensing Authority by written order.

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No order of cancellation shall be made under this clause unless the licensee has been given a reasonable opportunity stating its case against the proposed cancellation. The similar matter shall be disposed by the Licensing Authority within a month.”

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It is manifest from the reproductions aforementioned that the order impugned is in clear teeth of the statutory provisions and thus are unsustainable.

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For the reasons aforementioned the order of cancellation impugned in each of the writ petitions are set aside and the matters are remitted back to the Licensing Authority –cum- Sub-Divisional

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Patna High Court CWJC No.15767 of 2014 dt.15-01-2015

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Officer, Khagaria to consider the matters afresh and dispose of the same in accordance with law and after opportunity of hearing to the petitioners bearing in mind the statutory stipulations provided under „the Control Order‟. As a consequence of the order passed hereinabove, the licences of the petitioner(s) stand restored. The Writ petitions are allowed.

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(Jyoti Saran, J) SKPathak/U NAFR

Babita Devi v. The State Of Bihar and Ors.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Babita Devi v. The State Of Bihar and Ors.

Case brief

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