KAPOOR ENTERPRISES Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution prays for issuance of direction to respondent Nos. 2 to 6 to immediately release the margin money under the Margin Money Scheme of the Khadi Village and Industry Commission (KVIC). It has further been prayed that the order dated 28.5.2002 (P -6), passed by the State Level Officer & Member Secretary, Punjab Khadi & Village Industry Board, Chandigarh, declining the request of the petitioner to release the margin money subsidy to it, be set aside.

(2.) The facts of the case are that the Punjab Khadi and Village Industries Board (for brevity, 'the Board') is a State owned autonomous body and it has been set up to promote village industries in the rural area. The Board gets funds, which include loan and margin money/subsidy from the Khadi and Village Industries Commission, Bombay, which is an agency of Government of India. The main aim and object of this agency is to promote village based industries by distribution of funds as per requirements of all the States.

(3.) M/s Kapoor Enterprises, petitioner herein, is a proprietorship concern and engaged in the manufacturing of 'Corroborated Boxes'. On 20.4.2000, the Punjab State Cooperative Bank Limited, Chandigarh, addressed a letter to the Chairman of the Board -respondent No. 2 intimating that the KVIC had allowed the Central Cooperative Banks to entertain the cases for disbursement of money to the eligible persons under the Margin Money Scheme and accordingly a request was made for directing the Divisional Offices and District Offices to pass on the cases under the said Scheme to the Central Cooperative Banks, so that the scheme could be adopted by them in letter and spirit (P -1). Thereafter, wide publicity of the scheme launched by the KVIC was made through local as well as national newspapers. It is appropriate to mention here that as per the Scheme, 25% of the project cost for the projects up to Rs. 10 lacs was to be provided as 'Margin Money'. In other words, for a project up to Rs. 10 lacs, the interested person was required to invest Rs. 7.5 lacs (75%) from his own contribution and remaining Rs. 2.5 lacs (25%) were to be provided as subsidy by the KVIC. On coming to know about the Margin Money Scheme, the sole proprietor of the petitioner, namely, Shri Sunil Kapoor approached the Fazilka Central Cooperative Bank Limited -respondent No. 6 and applied for grant of a loan of Rs. 7.5 lacs for setting up factory for manufacturing Corroborated Boxes. After having financed their project from respondent No. 6 Bank, the petitioner applied to the Board through Respondent No. 6 Bank for margin money scheme of the KVIC. On 29.3.2001, the General Manager, District Industries Centre, Ferozepur -respondent No. 5, approved the case of the petitioner and directed respondent No. 6 Bank to release and sanction the case of the petitioner on top priority basis (P -2). Respondent No. 6 Bank disbursed a total sum of Rs. 7,50,000/ -to the petitioner as per the details given in Annexure P -3, which reads as under: