THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR WRIT PETITION NO.21784 OF 2008 DATED 12TH JULY, 2011 BETWEEN Krishna District Fair Price Shop Dealers Welfare Association, (Reg. No.339/95) rep. by its President Mallela Bhaskar Rao S/o Satyanarayana Aged 73 years Occ: Fair Price Shop, Dealer of Shop No.25, Machilipatnam, Krishna District. …Petitioner And The Joint Collector, Krishna, Machilipatnam and others. …Respondents THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR WRIT PETITION NO.21784 OF 2008 ORDER: The petitioner is the Krishna District Fair Price Shop Dealers Welfare Association, Machilipatnam, Krishna District, a registered body. It assails the action of the Civil Supplies authorities in allotting kerosene to hawkers for distribution on the ground that the same is violative of the Circulars dated 07.09.2006, 23.09.2006, 28.10.2006, 25.06.2007 and 02.11.2007 issued by the Joint Collector, Krishna District. The Kerosene Hawkers Association, Gannavaram, Krishna District and the Vijayawada Kerosene Retail Dealers Welfare Association, Vijayawada, Krishna District, got themselves impleaded as respondents 9 and 10 respectively in the writ petition. Perusal of the Circular dated 07.09.2006 issued by the Joint Collector, Krishna, reflects that the Revenue Divisional Officers in the District were requested to ensure that new Iris cards should be attached to Fair Price Shop Dealers for public distribution of kerosene from the month of September, 2006. The Joint Collector, Krishna, stated in his counter that several writ petitions had been filed by dealers and hawkers advancing rival claims as to entitlement to undertake public distribution of kerosene. He further stated that as per the order dated 21.11.2005 passed by this Court in Writ Petition No.20474 of 2004 filed by the Krishna District Fair Price Shop Dealers Welfare Association, Machilipatnam, the petitioner herein, the Commissioner of Civil Supplies, Andhra Pradesh, had called the dealers and hawkers for a hearing and passed orders dated 27.03.2006 directing that the instructions issued by the Government from time to time with regard to conversion of nominated retailers into Fair Price Shop Dealers and attachment of new cards to such dealers, keeping in view the distance and residence of the card holders and the economic viability of the dealers, should be complied with. It is further stated that pursuant to the said orders, instructions were issued to all the Tahsildars/Assistant Supply Officers for attachment of new cards issued with Iris Bio-Metric System to Fair Price Shop Dealers through the Circular dated 07.09.2006. He however stated that the hawkers of various villages and towns in Krishna District had filed writ petitions before this Court for allotment of kerosene to them in respect of new cards also. Reference is made to the common order dated 08.10.2007 passed by this Court in Writ Petition No.20760 of 2006 and batch, filed by the hawkers of Veerullapadu, Penamaluru, Thotlavalluru, Gannavaram, Unguturu, Gudlavalleru and Gudivada towns, enabling them to make a representation to the District Collector, Krishna, and directing consideration of the same as per law. He further stated that as per the directions of this Court the hawkers, who filed writ petitions and had made representations to the District Collector, Krishna, pursuant to the aforestated order, were permitted to continue with the public distribution of kerosene even to the new card holders attached to them. He also referred to the interim orders secured by various hawkers, whereby they continued to undertake public distribution of kerosene even to Iris card holders. He concluded by stating that instructions were issued to Tahsildars not to disturb the cards already attached to the hawkers; to attach the freshly issued cards, other than those exchanged, to Fair Price Shop Dealers and to make alternate arrangements for distribution of kerosene through Fair Price Shop Dealers in the event of the death of a kerosene hawker. A copy of the common order passed by me in Writ Petition Nos.26397 and 26404 of 2008 filed by hawkers of Veerullapadu and Kanchikacharla Mandals in Krishna District, is placed on record and indicates that, taking note of the stand of the Joint Collector, Krishna District, that a decision was taken not to disturb the cards already attached to the hawkers, the writ petitions were closed recording the fact that the cards attached to the petitioners therein would not be disturbed. A reference is found in the said order to a challenge laid to the decision of the authorities only to favour Fair Price Shop Dealers in so far as new Iris cards are concerned for distribution of kerosene. The learned Assistant Government Pleader for Civil Supplies is however not in a position to state as to what is the present status of the cases involving such challenge. Be that as it may, the fact remains that only those hawkers who approached this Court and who are covered by orders would be entitled to protection. Those hawkers who are covered by the decision taken by the authorities not to disturb the cards already attached to them would also be entitled to protection. The Circular instructions would however need to be implemented in respect of others who are not so covered and the same is reflected in the counter of the Joint Collector, Krishna, in the concluding paragraph, where he stated that only cards already attached to hawkers are not being disturbed and in the event of the death of any hawker also, the alternate arrangement is to effect distribution of kerosene through a dealer. In so far as fresh cards are concerned, being other than those exchanged, only Fair Price Shop Dealers were to be allotted kerosene for distribution. This is in keeping with the circular instructions. As long as the circular instructions continue to hold the field, the respondent authorities are enjoined to implement them uniformly, except to the extent of court intervention. The Writ Petition is disposed of with the above direction. No order as to costs. ____________________ SANJAY KUMAR, J. 12TH JULY, 2011. VGSR