RAMVIR Vs. STATE OF U.P. AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner in the instant case was a dealer of a Fair Price Shop in village Moodhibakarpur, District Bulandshahr. Upon complaints being made against him, a show-cause notice was issued along with an order of suspension on 19.8.2009. An enquiry was undergone and the licence of the petitioner to run the Fair Price Shop was cancelled by the respondent no.2 i.e. the District Supply Officer on 21.4.2010. The petitioner filed an Appeal which was also, to begin with, dismissed for want of prosecution on 27.9.2012. The petitioner's Restoration Application was also rejected on 10.10.2013. This necessitated the filing of writ petition being Writ Petition No.11033 of 2014 (Ram Veer vs. State of U.P. & Ors.) and upon an order being passed by this Court on 20.2.2014, by which the Appeal was to be deemed to have been restored, the same was heard on merits and ultimately dismissed on 22.1.2016. In the meantime, a criminal prosecution against the petitioner was undertaken under sections 3/7 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. This had resulted in an acquittal on 1.4.2019. Against the order of acquittal, the State of Uttar Pradesh had filed an Appeal on 15.6.2019.

(2.) The petitioner has, upon the passing of the order of acquittal on 1.4.2019, filed the instant writ petition claiming that since the criminal case had resulted in an acquittal, the orders by which the licence of the petitioner was cancelled and thereafter affirmed by the Appellate Order, be set-aside and the licence be restored to the petitioner.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the grounds on the basis of which the licence was cancelled were the same on the basis of which the criminal case had resulted in an acquittal. Learned counsel, therefore, relying upon a judgment of the Supreme Court, S. Bhaskar Reddy & Anr. vs. Superintendent of Police & Anr., 2015 2 SCC 365 submitted that when there is an honourable acquittal by the Criminal Court, then the orders passed by the department cancelling the licence had to be done away with.