Rajiv Kumar vs The State Of Bihar
2022 Latest Caselaw 596 Patna

           IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                   Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No 3911 of 2021
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RAJIV KUMAR son of Late Shiv Ratan Prasad, Resident of Village- kohra, P.S.- Makhdumpur, District- Jehanabad.

... ... Petitioner/s Versus

1. The State of Bihar through Principal Secretary, Food and Civil Supply Department, Government of Bihar, Patna

2. The District Magistrate-cum-Collector, Jehanabad

3. The Sub-Divisional Officer, Jehanabad.

4. The Block Supply Officer, Block- Makhdumpur, District- Jehanabad

... ... Respondent/s ====================================================== Appearance :

      For the Petitioner/s   :     Mr S K Lal,

                                   Mr Pritish Kumar Lal, Advocates

      For the Respondent/s   :     Mr AC to SC IV

====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE CHAKRADHARI SHARAN SINGH and HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE MADHURESH PRASAD

ORAL JUDGMENT

(Per: HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE CHAKRADHARI SHARAN SINGH)

Date : 24-01-2022

This case has been taken up for online hearing through

video-conference because of COVID 19 pandemic restrictions.

2 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and the

respondents.

3 The petitioner's father Shiv Ratan Prasad was granted

licence to run a Public Distribution System (for brevity, PDS) shop Patna High Court CWJC No.3911 of 2021 dt.24-01-2022

under Bihar Targeted Public Distribution System (for brevity,

BTPDS) (Control) Order, 2016. The said licence was cancelled by

the licensing authority by an order dated 31.08.2017. He had

preferred an appeal against the said order of the licensing authority

giving rise to Appeal Case No 16/DM of 2018 before the

Collector, Jehanabad in the light of an observation made by this

Court in the order dated 10.04.2018 passed in CWJC No 13801 of

2017. The said appeal came to be dismissed on 23.07.2019. The

petitioner's father, thereafter, did not assail the said order of the

appellate authority. It is stated in this application that the

petitioner's father Shiv Ratan Prasad died on 27.03.2020. Nearly

one year after his death, the present writ application has been filed

seeking quashing of the order of cancellation of licence and the

order of the appellate authority upholding the order of cancellation

of licence.

4 Mr S K Lal, learned counsel appearing on behalf of

the petitioner has submitted that the impugned order cancelling the

petitioner's licence was per se illegal inasmuch as the licensee was

not given any opportunity of hearing. He has further submitted

that the appellate authority also failed to examine the relevant

issues, raised before it.

Patna High Court CWJC No.3911 of 2021 dt.24-01-2022

5 In response to the Court's query as to whether the

cause of action still survives after death of the original licensee,

learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that since the

orders are per se illegal, the petitioner can maintain this writ

application to assail the said order so as to take advantage of the

provision under Rule 9 of the BTPDS (Control) Order, 2016 which

provides for grant of licence on compassionate basis.

6 In our opinion, this writ application has no merit for

more than one reasons. Firstly, in our considered opinion, the

petitioner cannot be permitted to question the correctness of

cancellation of licence upon the death of original licensee. The

cause of action, in our opinion, did not survive upon the death of

the original licensee. Secondly, we have perused the order passed

by the licensing authority whereby the petitioner's father's licence

was cancelled. The said order has dealt in detail with the materials

available on record, before cancellation of the licence. It also

appears from the said order that the licensee was given an

opportunity to submit his explanation which he had submitted.

The plea that the said order was in violation of principles of nature

justice, in the Court's opinion, is not sustainable at all.

7 The order of the appellate authority also deals with the

points which were taken by the original licensee.

Patna High Court CWJC No.3911 of 2021 dt.24-01-2022

8 In our view, for the aforesaid reasons, this application

deserves to be dismissed and is dismissed accordingly.

(Chakradhari Sharan Singh, J)

(Madhuresh Prasad, J) M.E.H./-

AFR/NAFR                   NAFR
CAV DATE                     NA
Uploading Date           29.01.2022
Transmission Date            NA