ROPAN SAHOO Vs. ANANDA KUMAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) LEAVE granted in both the special leave petitions.

(2.) QUESTIONING the legal acceptability of the order dated 16.9.2009 passed by the Division Bench of the High Court Orissa at Cuttack in WP(C) No. 3913 of 2009 whereby the High Court entertained the writ petition preferred by the first respondent herein and quashed the grant of exclusive privilege and the licence granted in favour of Ropan Sahoo and Mukesh Kumar, the respondent Nos. 5 and 6 in the writ petition, the present appeals have been preferred by the grieved persons as well as by the State.

(3.) BEING grieved by the grant of said licences, the first respondent invoked the jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution principally contending that the report submitted by the Excise Inspector with regard to certain aspects, namely, location of the bathing ghat, etc. were not factually correct; that the recommendations made by the authorities were highly improper and unwarranted; and that the relaxation had been granted in an extremely arbitrary manner and, therefore, the grant of exclusive privilege and the licence deserved to be axed. The High Court perused the documents brought on record, called for the record to satisfy itself in what manner the power of relaxation was exercised, and after perusal of the record and on consideration of to various recommendations, came to hold that as far as the respondent No. 5 was concerned for sanction of a beer parlour 'ON ' shop licence for the remaining period of 2008-09, no order was passed relaxing the Rules before the grant of exclusive privilege. As far as the sanction of IMFL Restaurant licence in respect of 6th respondent was concerned, the High Court expressed the similar view. We think it apt to reproduce the ultimate conclusion recorded by the High Court: -