IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) WEDNESDAY, THE TWENTY SECOND DAY OF OCTOBER TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT :PRESENT: THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY WRIT PETITION NO : 14317 of 2002 Between: Rekulapalli Laxmi, W/o Late R.Mallaiah, ..... Petitioner AND 1 The Government of A.P. rep.by its Secretary, Finance and Planning (Fin. Wing-EBS-PWD) Dept.,Secretariat, Hyderabad. 2 The Superintendent, Prohibition and Excise Department, Warangal. .....Respondents Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying that in the circumstances stated in the Affidavit filed herein the High Court may be pleased to issue an appropriate Writ, order or direction especially one in the nature of Writ of Mandamus declaring the action of the 2nd respondent in not paying the rent in terms of G.O.Ms.No.35, dated 27-2-1997 issued by the 1st respondent as illegal, arbitrary and a) direct the 2nd respondent to pay the arrears of rent @ Rs.9,059/- p.m. from May, 2001 onwards; or b) direct the 2nd respondent to pay the arrears of rent fallen due from May, 2001 onwards and vacate the said premises; and pass such other order or orders as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the circumstances of the case The petition coming on for hearing, upon perusing the petition and the affidavit filed herein and the order of the High Court dated 30-4-2003 made in WPMP.,No.17887 of 2002, and upon hearing the arguments of SRI J. VENKATESWARA REDDY, Advocate for the Petitioner, Govt. Pleader for Finance and Planning for the respondent No.1 and of the Govt. Pleader for Prohibition and Excise for the respondent No.2, the Court made the following: ORDER: The grievance of the petitioner, which this Court, prima facie, finds legitimacy in, is that the respondents have not followed G.O.Ms.No.35, dated 27-02-1997, by revising the rent for the premises originally let out by the petitioner’s husband to accommodate office of respondent No.2 at the rates fixed by the said order. Apart from finding other anomalies, at the hearing, this court is seriously concerned with the action of the Commissioner of the Prohibition and Excise Department in limiting the benefit of revision with effect from 31-05-2006 alone on the purported ground that on the said day, the owner of the premises made his representation. While the understanding by the Commissioner, of the true purport of G.O.Ms.No. 35, raises serious doubts n the mind of this Court, regarding the necessity for the landlord to make a representation for revision of rates in terms of the said G.O. respondent No.2, in paragraph 4 of his counter, admitted that the first representation was made on 12-11-1998 to revise the refix the rent. This Court is, therefore, at a loss to understand the rationale behind the Commissioner limiting the benefit of revision only from 31-05-2006. Subject to the explanation to be offered by the Commissioner, this Court finds it difficult to appreciate the casual approach of the Commissioner in addressing the legitimate grievance of a citizen. -2- The learned Government Pleader made a request for adjournment to advise the Commissioner in this regard. If no corrective action is taken on the next date of hearing, the Court will be constrained to take a very serious view of the matter. Post on 5-11-2008. ASSISTANT REGISTRAR // TRUE COPY // for ASSISTANT REGISTRAR To 1. The Secretary to Government., Finance and Planning (Fin. Wing-EBS-PWD) Dept.,Secretariat, Hyderabad. 2 The Superintendent, Prohibition and Excise Department, Warangal. 3. The Commissioner of Prohibition and Excise, A.P.Hyderabad.(By SPL.MESSENGER) 4. 2 CCs to the G.P.for Finance and Planning, High court of A.P.Hyd. (O.UT) 5. 2 CCs to the G.P.for Prohibition and Excise, High court of A.P.Hyd.(By SPL. MESSENGER) 6. One C.C.to Sri J. Venkateswara Reddy, Advocate. (OPUC) 7. one spare copy. HIGH COURT CVNR.J DATED 22-10-2008 POST ON 5-11-2008 ORDER W.P.NO. 14317 OF 2002 DIRECTION Bsr Dt. 23-10-2008 HIGH COURT CVNR.J DATED 22-10-2008 POST ON 5-11-2008 ORDER W.P.NO. 14317 OF 2002 DIRECTION