SAMACHAR DHARA Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition, by a newspaper being published from Varanasi and Dehradun, was filed i) seeking mandamus to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India and to the Directorate of Advertising Visual Publicity (DAVP) of the Government of India to empanel the Dehradun edition of the petitioner newspaper in terms of the policy formulated by the DAVP; ii) seeking a direction to the respondents to issue a rate contract of Dehradun edition of the petitioner in terms of the policy formulated by DAVP; and, iii) mandamus directing the respondents to issue advertisement regularly to Varanasi edition of petitioner in terms of the policy formulated by DAVP.

(2.) Notice of the petition was issued and pleadings have been completed.

(3.) The counsel for the petitioner states that the first two of the three reliefs claimed in this petition stands satisfied with the Dehradun edition of the petitioner newspaper having been empanelled with the DAVP and a rate contract having also been entered into with respect to the said edition of the newspaper. He contends that now only the last relief of a mandamus directing the respondents to issue advertisement regularly to the petitioner newspaper in terms of the policy formulated by the DAVP survives. It is further stated that though at the time of filing of the petition the said relief was claimed with respect to Varanasi edition which then was the only edition empanelled and having a rate contract but now that the Dehradun edition of the petitioner newspaper has also been empanelled and has a rate contract with the DAVP, the said relief is claimed with respect to both editions of the newspaper. Attention in this regard is also drawn to the order dated 1st May, 2015 in this petition directing the petitioner to file the particulars in this regard and to the affidavit dated 29th May, 2015 filed in compliance therewith.