Court No. - 45
Case :- WRIT - C No. - 20236 of 2018 Petitioner :- Raju Respondent :- State Of U.P. And 4 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Sanjay Kumar Dubey Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,Manu Singh
Hon'ble Ajay Bhanot,J.
The petitioner is a cardholder of village panchayat Garhi Bhoop Chandra Gutahara, Tehsil Sadabad, District Hathras. The submission of Sri R.S.Maurya holding brief of Sri Sanjay Kumar Dubey, learned counsel for the petitioner is that the petitioner is being denied his entitlements under the National Food Security Act as well as other beneficial schemes being run by the State government as well as the Central Government. The rations and other essential commodities are not being disbursed to him by the respondent no. 5, who is the fair price shop dealer of the aforesaid village panchayat. The petitioner has made several representations to the respondent authorities. However, the respondent authorities have not paid any heed to the complaints made by the petitioner. In such situation, the denial of foodgrains and entitlements under the National Food Security Act, 2013 goes on unabated and with the sense of impunity. Further submission of Sri Maurya, learned counsel for the petitioner is that the husband of respondent no. 5 is a person of criminal antecedents. He has number of criminal cases pending against him. The husband of respondent no. 5 has created a terror in the village and consequently even though other cardholders are also being denied their dues, no one has courage to complain against violation of their rights.
The matter is not only serious but also most urgent. The legislature intent to ensure smooth distribution of essential commodities to the cardholders and other beneficiaries shall be defeated, in case the persons, having criminal antecedents, are allowed to influence distribution of essential commodities either directly or indirectly. The respondent no. 2, the District Magstrate Hathras, shall inquire into the matter. Pursuant to the findings of the inquiry, the District Magistrate shall take corrective measures. These corrective measures would include the regular distribution of essential commodities to the petitioner, in case he is so eligible, and also to other cardholders of the aforesaid village panchayat. The District Magistrate, Hathras shall also inquire into the influence being exercised by the husband of the respondent no. 5 in the distribution of the essential commodities. The District Magistrate, Hathras, will ascertain whether the respondent no. 5 has used the criminal background of her husband to deny the essential commodities to the cardholders of the village. In case, the findings are in affirmative, the District Magistrate shall take appropriate action and also make recommendations to the State government for creating a policy to deal with such situations.
With the aforesaid observations/directions, this writ petition is disposed of.
Order Date :- 29.5.2018 Pratima