VIRINDER SINGH Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner in the present writ petition is aggrieved by the order dated 2.8.2000 passed by the Indian Oil Corporation (for short 'the Corporation'), the respondent No. 2, terminating the LPG distributorship held by him in the name of Ambala Gas Service under the terms of an agreement dated 1.4.76 with immediate effect. Before adverting to the various objections raised by the petitioner, it is necessary to notice the relevant facts.

(2.) AMBALA Gas Service was originally a partnership firm consisting of two partners namely petitioner and one K.K. Mehra. It had entered into an agreement with the Corporation on 1.4.1976 for the LPG distributorship in its favour on the terms and conditions contained therein. The said K.K. Mehra is stated to have retired from the partnership vide an oral dissolution in the year 1986-87 and since then the LPG distributorship was being run by the petitioner as the sole proprietor of Ambala Gas Service.

(3.) THE petitioner furnished a reply to the aforesaid notice on 10.4.2000 in which the allegation were denied. The petitioner denied having entered into any partnership with S.R. Wadhwan and took the stand that the documents referred to in the civil suit and the contentions raised thereon were false, vexatious and baseless. It was explained that S.R. Wadhawan was only a Manager in his office and this fact was within the knowledge of the Corporation right from the year 1973. It was further contended that the services of S.R. Wadhawan were dispensed with in 1998 due to his ill health and this had provoked him to file a false, frivolous and vexatious suit against the petitioner on the basis of forged documents. In this explanation, the petitioner also requested the Corporation to supply him the copies of the documents referred to in the show cause notice, so that he could furnish necessary explanation in respect of the same. The petitioner also claims to have sent a letter dated 2.4.2000 (Annexure P-4), wherein a specific request had been made to supply him the copies of the following documents referred to in the show cause notice dated 21.3.2000 served on the petitioner on 29.3.2000 :-