Between:
Hon’ble Sri Justice C.V.Nagarjuna Reddy Writ Petition No.32947 of 2014 Date:05.11.2014 Vana Lakshmi, W/o Madhusudhana Rao And The State of A.P., reptd by its Principal Secretary, Civil Supplies Department, Hyderabad and three others.
.. Petitioner .. Respondents Counsel for the petitioner: Sri P.Rajkumar Counsel for the respondents: AGP for Civil Supplies (Andhra Pradesh) The Court made the following:
ORDER:
This Writ Petition is filed for a Mandamus to set aside proceedings in Rc.No.593/2014/CS, dated 07.10.2014, whereby respondent No.3 has suspended the petitioner's fair price shop authorization, while simultaneously issuing a show cause notice to the petitioner to explain as to why her fair price shop authorization shall not be cancelled.
Since the enquiry before respondent No.3 is pending, I refrain from rendering conclusive findings on the charges made against the petitioner. However, it will suffice to observe that the only ground on which the petitioner's fair price shop authorization was suspended was that she was distributing the essential commodities to the relatives of Smt Tekkali Polamma, W/o Late Asirayya and Smt Devadi Ammanna, W/o Krishnamurthy, who died long back. From the charge itself, it is evident that regardless of death of the said two card holders, the essential commodities were distributed to their relatives. Thus, there is no allegation to the effect that the petitioner has been diverting the essential commodities for her personal gain, by showing as if the same were distributed to the dead persons.
In my, prima facie, opinion, even if the allegation that the petitioner has distributed the essential commodities to the relatives of the deceased is proved in the enquiry, at the worst, the petitioner can only be censured in the absence of an allegation that she has misappropriated the value of the essential commodities by making false entries of distribution in the name of the deceased card holders.
In this view of the matter, the impugned order of respondent No.3 suspending the petitioner's fair price shop authorization is wholly unwarranted and the same is, accordingly, set aside.
The Writ Petition is, accordingly, allowed.
As a sequel, WPMP.No.41197 of 2014, filed by the petitioner for interim relief, is disposed of as infructuous.
(C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY, J) 05th November 2014 dr