HARBHAGWAN Vs. GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE respondent No.4 M/s. Makkar Store, made a request to the Food & Supplies Department, Government of NCT of Delhi for shifting of his business premises from Shop No.8, Naroji Nagar, New Delhi to P -7, Village Pillanji, Sarojini Nagar, New Delhi. The aforesaid application was rejected by the Assistant Commissioner, Food & Supplies. Being aggrieved from the rejection of his application respondent No.4 preferred an appeal under Clause 6 (7) of the Delhi Specified Articles (Regulation of Distribution) Order, 1981, before the Financial Commissioner, Delhi. Vide order dated 13.9.2012, which has been impugned in this writ petition, the Financial Commissioner ordered withdrawal of the order passed by respondent No.3, rejecting the application of respondent No.4 for shifting of his business premises and directed issue of a fresh order, permitting him to run the Fair Price Shop No.6501 in an appropriate location and premises identified by him in Village Pilanji. It was directed that while doing so the Food, Supplies & Consumer Affair Department shall also arrange for re -allotment of card holders amongst the shops functioning in that area, in an equitable manner, in order to make them reasonably viable and functionally convenient for the card holders attached to each one of those shops. In compliance of the said directions, the Assistant Commissioner, Food & Supplies Department, New Delhi vide his order dated 30.1.2013, withdrew certain cards from the petitioners and allocated the same to respondent no.4 and another fair price shop owner M/s Satnarain. Being aggrieved from the aforesaid order dated 13.9.2012 passed by the Financial Commissioner, Delhi as well as the consequent order dated 30.1.2013 passed by the Assistant Commissioner, the petitioners are before this Court seeking the following reliefs:

(2.) THE learned counsel for the petitioners has contended that since the prayer made in the appeal preferred by the respondent no.4 before the Financial Commissioner was restricted to shifting of his business premises from Shop No.8, Nauroji Nagar, New Delhi to P -7, Village Pillanji, Sarojini Nagar, New Delhi, no order directing redistribution of the cards could have been passed by the Financial Commissioner.

(3.) IT would thus be seen that the Assistant Commissioners concerned are to ensure rationalization of linking and delinking of ration cards, in their respective circles, in terms of the norms and guidelines issued by the Department of Food and Supplies from time to time. The guidelines issued in this regard stipulate allocation of one thousand (1000) ration cards to each Fair Price Shop holder. A perusal of the order dated 30.01.2013 would show that even after re -distribution of ration cards in terms of the said order, the number of ration cards allocated to respondent no.4 - M/s. Makkar Store and M/s Satnarain is 185 each. Same is the number of ration cards now available with the petitioners. Therefore, there is no favouritism shown to respondent no.4 or to M/s Satnarain, in the matter of distribution of ration cards. This can hardly be disputed that in case shifting of a fair price shop is allowed from one locality to another, ration cards have to be provided to the said FPS in the new locality and initially that can be done only by withdrawing ration cards from the existing fair price shops. It would be travesty of justice to say that though respondent no.4 could be allowed to shift his business premises from Shop No.8, Naroji Nagar, New Delhi to P -7, Village Pillanji, Sarojini Nagar, New Delhi, he should not have been allocated ration cards at the new place. The shifting of business premises would be wholly meaningless and fruitless unless the ration cards are also allocated to the fair price shop at the new place.