IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) MONDAY, THE THIRTEENTH DAY OF JULY TWO THOUSAND AND NINE PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY WRIT PETITION No.13813 of 2009 Between: M/s Satyanarayana & Sons Kirana and General Stores, Godavarikhani, Rep by its Prop. R.Satyanarayana, S/o. Venkataiah, aged 60 years, Occ: Business R/o. 16-10-61, Kalyannagar, godavarikhani, Karimnagar District. ..... PETITIONER AND 1 The Government of Andhra Pradesh, Rep by Principal Secretary, Food, Agriculture and Civil Supplies Department, Secretariat, Hyderabad. 2 The Collector (CS)/ The Joint Collector, Karimnagar 3 The Tahsildar (CS) Ramagundam Mandal, Godavarikhani, Karimnagar District. .....RESPONDENTS Counsel for the Petitioner: MR.V.RAVI KIRAN RAO Counsel for the Respondents: GP FOR CIVIL SUPPLIES The Court made the following : ORDER: This Writ Petition is filed for a Mandamus to direct the respondents to release to the petitioner the stocks seized under Panchanama, dated 05-06-2009, or in the alternative to direct not to sell the seized stocks, pending proceedings under Section 6-A of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (for short “the Act”). Heard Sri V.Ravi Kiran Rao, learned Counsel for the petitioner, and the learned Government Pleader for Civil Supplies. The petitioner is a trader, involved in selling food grains. An inspection of the petitioner’s shop was conducted on 05-06-2009 by the Task Force team wherein various food grains and pulses, sugar and oil packets, all worth Rs.79,900/-, were seized on the ground that the petitioner’s license expired and that he has not applied for its renewal and has been conducting the business. On an earlier occasion, the petitioner filed Writ Petition No.11646 of 2009, which was dismissed on 16-06-2009 by this Court as premature, permitting the petitioner to approach respondent No.2 herein for release of the seized stock. In the present Writ Petition, the grievance of the petitioner is that though he filed an application, in terms of liberty given by this Court, on 20-06-2009, which was received by the Office of respondent No.2 on the same day, respondent No.2 passed order on 21-06-2009 directing disposal of the seized stock through public auction and remittance of the sale proceeds in revenue deposits through challan. The learned Counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner’s application was not considered, before the impugned order was passed, by respondent No.2. A perusal of the impugned order shows that the petitioner’s application was not referred to, much less considered. Since the proceedings under Section 6-A of the Act are pending and the petitioner pleaded that he applied for renewal of his license, by paying prescribed fee through a challan, on 31-03-2009 itself i.e., the day on which his licence was expiring, and that the said application was pending on the date of inspection, I deem it appropriate to direct respondent No.2 to dispose of the proceedings under Section 6-A of the Act, within a period of six weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this Order. Pending the said proceedings, Order, dated 21-06-2009, passed by respondent No.2 shall not be given effect to. The Writ Petition is disposed of accordingly. As a sequel to disposal of the Writ Petition, W.P.M.P.No.18054 of 2009 filed by the petitioner for interim relief is disposed of as infructuous. ___________________________ (C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY, J) 13th July, 2009 Note: Operative Portion by wire at party’s costs. (B/o) lur