K BHAVANI AMMA Vs. C SURENDRAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Contempt of Court Case is filed by the petitioner in O.P. No. 7564 of 2001 which was disposed of by a learned Single Judge of this Court as per judgment dated 5.4.2001.

(2.) Petitioner, who is the proprietor of Udaya Agencies at Palakkad, is a wholesale kerosene dealer under the Kerala Kerosene Order. 44 retail dealers in Palakkad Taluk are to lift kerosene from this wholesale dealer. An association under the name and style Kerala State Podhuvidharana Sangatana which is an organisation allegedly sponsored by the Communist Party of India made certain complaints about the functioning of the wholesale dealership of the petitioner, and in pursuance thereof action was taken by the authority under Kerosene Order to delink 11 retail shops from the petitioners wholesale depot. Aggrieved by this action, petitioner approached the District Collector, Palakkad, seeking orders relinking the 11 retail shops to the petitioners wholesale depot. Petitioner alleged before the District Collector that the Kerala State Podhuvitharana Sanghatana made false allegations against the petitioner taking advantage of the political mileage since the Minister in charge of the department of Food and Civil Supplies happened to be a person in the leadership of the Communist Party of India.

(3.) The District Collector after making enquiries into the allegations and hearing the respective parties passed order dated 17.2.2000 disapproving the delinking from the petitioners wholesale depot. Against this order of the District Collector, the Association filed a statutory revision before the Commissioner for Civil Supplies. Pending disposal of that revision petition, a prayer for staying the order of the District Collector was also made. But the Civil Supplies Commissioner did not issue any order of stay. Dissatisfied, the Association approached the Minister for Food and Civil Supplies and thereupon the Secretary to Government, Food and Civil Supplies, issued order dated 24.2.2001 staying the order of the District Collector. Aggrieved by that order, the petitioner filed O.P. No. 7564 of 2001 before this Court.