ASHOK KUMAR AGRAWALLA Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) - A Division Bench of this Court vide order dated 2-3-1993 has referred this case for consideration by a Larger Bench as the Division Bench differed with the ratio of two decisions of this Court by Division Benches in CWJC Nos. 298 of 1993 (R) and 777 of 1992 (R).

(2.) Short facts of the case are necessary to be stated for the purpose of appreciating the legal points involved. The petitioner is the proprietor of M/s.Gopal Bhandar which deals in wholesale foodgrains having its place of business at Kirkand in the district of Dhanbad. He is having a licence under the Bihar Trade Articles (Licences Unification) Order, 1984 (hereinafter referred to as "the Unification Order"), being licence No. 45/85. The Market Committee, Dhanbad set up under Bihar Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1960 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), through Its Secretary were pressing upon the dealers of the foodgrains in the Market area of Dhanbad for shifting their respective establishment at Kirkand to the Market yard at Domara Barwa. When the dealers including the petitioner did not accede to the directions of the said Secretary of the Marketing Committee, the respondent No. 2, who is the licensing authority under the Trade Unification Order under Essential Commodities Act (for short "E. C. Act") suspended their licences for disobedience of aforesaid direction of shifting of their business premises to the market yard.

(3.) Some of those dealers came up before this Court challenging the above suspension order in the abovementioned two writ petitions. The Division Bench of this Court in both cases allowed the .writ petition holding that a licence issued under the Unification Order cannot be cancelled due to non observance of the directions to shift their place of business to the directions to shift their place of business to the market yard as per the Act for the following reasons: