BIRENDRA KUMAR MANJHI SON OF LATE SATYA NARAYAN MANJHI Vs. THE BHARAT PETROLEUM CORPORATION LTD. HAVING ITS REGISTERED OFFICE AT BHARAT BHAWAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned counsel for the respondent Corporation.

(2.) The present writ petition has been filed for setting aside the decision of the respondents rejecting the candidature of the petitioner for award of LPG distributorship at Village Harpur under Baniapur Block of Saran District under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen LPG Vitrak (for short "RGGLV") communicated vide letter no. PT:RGGLV: (Bedauli and others) dated 20.11.2013 issued by the Territory Manager, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, Patna; and further to direct the respondents to award the petitioner the distributorship having been selected on 03.01.2013 for the same.

(3.) The short facts according to the petitioner are that, pursuant to an advertisement dated 26.02.2012 for the award of distributorship of RGGLV, the petitioner applied for the location appearing at Sl. No. 24 under the Scheduled Caste category. The relevant columns of the advertisement read as follows:- <FRM>JUDGEMENT_220_LAWS(PAT)7_2016_1.html</FRM> In his application the petitioner stated the following details:- <FRM>JUDGEMENT_220_LAWS(PAT)7_2016_2.html</FRM> In due course the petitioner was required to furnish some additional documents in terms of letter dated 13.08.2012, which stood complied, pursuant to which the respondents vide letter dated 11.02.2012 informed the petitioner that he had qualified for the draw for selection of RGGLV for the cluster of villages in question. The petitioner accordingly participated in the draw held on 03.01.2013 and was selected for the distributorship. Since the matter remained dormant, some time thereafter the petitioner made enquiries and pursuant to an application under the Right to Information Act, he received a letter dated 13.11.2013 from the respondent Corporation informing him with regard to an ongoing verification of the particulars stated in the petitioner's application which had been received in response to the advertisement relating to the cluster of villages falling under Bedauli Panchayat. Soon thereafter the respondent Corporation by their impugned letter dated 20.11.2013 informed the petitioner that inasmuch as the petitioner was found to be a resident of Village Harpur under Gram Panchayat Harpur, Block Baniapur, Dist. Saran, which is a separate village and is situated away from the advertised cluster of villages, hence his candidature was rejected.