SAVITRI AGRAWAL Vs. K K BOSE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a special appeal against the judgment of Broome, J.. allowing the writ petition filed by respondent No. 1. K. K. Bose and quashing an order granting a hotel bar licence for the sale of foreign liquor in Form F. L. 6 to the appellant, Srimati Savitri Agarwal.

(2.) ONE J. K. Bose, uncle of res pondent No. 1. was running the Great Indian Hotel in Lucknow and held a licence in Form F. L. 6 for the retail sale of foreign liquor since 1910. Respond ent No. 1 had been assisting his uncle in (Contd. on Col. 2) the running of the hotel as well as oj the bar. In 1961. J. K. Bose died. By his will, he left the hotel and the bar business mainly to his nephew. Res pondent No. 1 applied for continuance of the bar licence in his name. A tem porary licence was first granted to him but was later revoked on the ground that liquor licences were not heritable and that respondent No. 1 had no preferential claim. Applications were then invited for the settlement of the licence held by the late J. K. Bose and a number ot persons, including the appellant and res pondent No. 1, applied for it. The ex cise authorities prepared a comparative chart of the qualifications of the various applicants and. in this chart, the quali fications of respondent No. 1 and of the appellant are mentioned thus:-

(3.) THE only point urged by Sri Shanti Bhusfaan, learned counsel for the appellant, is that the licence was not granted on an irrelevant consideration as Art. 15(3) of the Constitution permits a woman applicant to be preferred to a male applicant on the ground of sex alone. The relevant part of Art. 15 stands thus:-