IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) TUESDAY, THE FIFTEENTH DAY OF JUNE TWO THOUSAND AND TEN PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY WRIT PETITION Nos.16476 & 17127 of 2006 Between: B. Aravindavalli … Petitioner (in WP.No.16476 of 2006) C. Nageswara Rao … Petitioner (in WP.No.17127 of 2006) And The District Collector, Prakasam District, & others. … Respondents Counsel for the Petitioners: Sri S. Dushyantha Reddy Counsel for the respondents: GP for Civil Supplies The Court made the following: THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY WRIT PETITION No.16476 and 17127 of 2006 COMMON ORDER: At the interlocutory stage, these two writ petitions are taken up for hearing and disposal with the consent of the learned counsel for the parties. In these two writ petitions, the petitioners are the fair price shop dealers of Epurupalem Village, Cheerala Mandal, Prakasam district. By separate, but identical proceedings, respondent No.1 created one new shop by bifurcating the existing fair price shops. These orders are questioned mainly on the ground that the bifurcation is in contravention of Government Memo dated 22.01.1999. At the hearing, it is submitted by the learned counsel for the petitioners that under the abovementioned Government Memo, in rural areas, every fair price shop should have a minimum of 350 white ration cards to ensure viability, that the petitioners were holding 444 and 452 white ration cards respectively and that after bifurcation the number of white cards that will be left with the petitioners’ fair price shops are 344 and 349 respectively. In reply to this plea of the petitioners, respondent No.3 in his separate but identical counter affidavits admitted the above position. Inasmuch as the actual ration cards, which would be left with the petitioners are below the minimum ration cards, as prescribed by the Government in Memo dated 22.01.1999, the proposed bifurcation cannot be sustained in law. It needs to be noted that the Government stipulated the minimum number of ration cards to ensure viability so as to prevent the fair price shop dealers from committing irregularities in distribution of essential commodities. Such an avowed purpose will be frustrated by bifurcating the existing fair price shops without keeping in view the viability factor. For the abovementioned reasons, the impugned proceedings are set aside and the writ petitions are accordingly allowed. As a sequel to disposal of the writ petitions in the manner indicated above, WPMP.No.20560 of 2006 and WVMP.No.2773 of 2009 in WP.No.16476 of 2006 and WPMP.No.21471 of 2006 and WVMP.No.2570 of 2009 in WP.No.17127 of 2006 are disposed of as infructuous. __________________________ C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY, J Date: 15.06.2010. ES