KRISHNA Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) FOUR country liquor shops in the district of Meerut situate at Anaj Mandi, Delhi Road, Sabun Godam and Mohiuddinpur were auctioned on 29th March, 1978. The petitioners were the highest bidders, their bid being for a sum of Rs. 20,00,000. As would be shown later the location of the fourth shop was at Rethani and while holding the aforesaid auction it was shifted to Mohiuddinpur. By an order dated 19th April, 1978, a copy whereof has been filed as Annexure 11 to the writ petition, the Excise Commissioner required the District Magistrate, Meerut either to shift the Mohiuddinpur shop to a distance of 8 kms. from the border of Ghaziabad or to auction this group of shops afresh. This order states that the shop located at Rethani had without prior sanction been shifted to Mohiuddinpur and auctioned which was not in accordance with the rules. This could not be done without the concurrence of the District Magistrate of both the districts inasmuch as Mohiuddinpur was situate within 3 kms. of the border of Ghaziabad. It is this order of the Excise Commissioner which is sought to be quashed in the present writ petition.

(2.) THE writ petition has been contested both on behalf of the State of Uttar Pradesh and the Excise Commissioner on the one hand and also on behalf of one Krishan Lal who has been impleaded as respondent No. 6 in the writ petition on an application made by him for this purpose. An application was made on behalf of the State Government and the Excise Commissioner by their standing Counsel for dismissal of the writ petition on the ground that the petitioners had an alternative remedy of filing a revision before the State Government. When that application came up for hearing it was considered expedient to hear the writ petition itself on merits.

(3.) HAVING heard counsel for the parties we are of opinion that the writ petition is not maintainable. From Annexure CA 2 to the counter affidavit of H. C. Dwivedi, Excise Inspector, it appears that the three shops situate at Anajmandi, Delhi Road and Sabun Go-dam were auctioned on 29th March, 1978, for a sum of Rs. 21,40,000/- whereas a fourth shop which was situate at Rethani was auctioned for a sum of Rs. 1,00,000/ -. Thus the total auction money for all the four shops came to Rs. 22,40,000/ -. From the said annexure it further appears that the petitioner No. 1 Shri Krishna made an application that in case the shop situate at Rethani was shifted to Mohiuddinpur and if the three shops referred to above and the shop so shifted at Mohiuddinpur were auctioned afresh in one group he was prepared to make a higher bid. The District Magistrate on the basis of the said application decided to shift the Rethani shop to Mohiuddinpur and to auction all the four shops afresh. On these four shops being re-auctioned the petitioners bid for Rs. 26,00,000/ -. It is further apparent from the said annexure CA2 that the Collector shifted the shop from Rethani to Mohiuddinpur with the specific condition that the permission of the Excise Commissioner will be taken in this behalf later on. Annexure CA 2 is the copy of a letter dated 10th April, 1978, and it is addressed to the Excise Commissioner. A complaint was also made in this behalf by respondent No. 6 to the Excise Commissioner. It appears that the impugned order was passed by the Excise Commissioner on the basis of letter dated 10th April, 1978, aforesaid and presumably also on the basis of the complaint made by respondent No. 6.