GEETHA Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner obtained a cl-9 licence dated 30-6-1999 for the excise year 1999-2000 (valid till 30-6-2000) for running a bar and restaurant at premises No. 3-2-79 and 3-2-42/1, near gandhi circle, shorapur.

(2.) THE second respondent issued a circular dated 23-8-1999 informing all the deputy commissioners of excise that this court in the case of Mahabala Uggappa Adappa v Excise Commissioner and others, had directed the excise commissioner to take immediate steps to cancel the excise licences where the businesses were not carried by the licensees themselves but by some other person on the basis of a "lease agreement or power of attorney or the like", and therefore the deputy commissioners of excise should initiate action in respect of all retail licensees as per the said order of this court and report compliance within 30-9-1999.

(3.) IN pursuance of it, the third respondent issued a show-cause notice dated 28-9-1999 to the petitioner calling upon the petitioner to show cause why the cl-9 licence granted to her should not be cancelled as she had granted a power of attorney to one RAJ kumar to run the business. The notice also stated that running the business by granting a power attorney was illegal and that this court by order dated 10-6- 1999 in mahabala's case, supra, had directed cancellation of such licences. Petitioner filed detailed objections dated 12-10-1999 stating that earlier, the licence stood in the name of her mother gomibai who died on 11-4-1997; and at that time she had given a power of attorney to her brother raj\ kumar indnani to get the cl-9 licence transferred from the name of her mother gomibai to her name and to run the said bar and restaurant; that she was running the business and had not transferred it to anyone else; that as she was not keeping good health, her brother had done everything and had even got the current licence for 1999-2000; and that subsequently, she had cancelled the power of attorney granted to her brother. She requested that the show-cause notice may be withdrawn as there was no violation of the rules and as she had also cancelled the power of attorney given to her brother.