IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) MONDAY, THE TWENTY SEVENTH DAY OF DECEMBER TWO THOUSAND AND TEN PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY WRIT PETITION No.32564 of 2010 Between: Chitturi Venkata Subba Rao @ Nani ..... Petitioner AND The Joint Collector, Krishna at Machilipatnam & others. .....Respondents Counsel for the petitioner: Sri Ch. Raghu Ram Counsel for the respondents : AGP for Civil Supplies The Court made the following : THE HON’BLE MR JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY WRIT PETITION No.32564 of 2010 ORDER: This is a peculiar case where the petitioner, who is a food grains dealer in rice, is alleged to have misused the stock, which was seized on 30.07.2010 with reference to which this Court passed an order on 24.09.2010 in Writ Petition No.23633 of 2010. On 30.07.2010, the Assistant Grains Purchasing Officer and other officials of the civil supplies department intercepted the lorry bearing No.AP 37 U 2795 and seized 169.25 quintals of rice, 22 quintals of broken rice and 4.75 quintals of boiled ravva under a cover of panchanama and the same was handed over to one K.E.V. Satyanarayana, partner of Srinivasa Enterprises, Shop No.2/54, MGWS Complex, Gollapudi, for safe custody. When an application was filed by the petitioner for release of these stocks, respondent No.1 rejected the same. The petitioner has therefore filed Writ Petition No.23633 of 2010, which was disposed of by this Court by staying the sale of the seized stock and directing respondent No.1 to dispose of the proceedings under Section 6A of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (for short, “the Act”) within three months. Thereafter, on 19.10.2010, during the inspection of the petitioner’s shop, it was allegedly found that a part of the seized stock, which was handed over to K.E.V. Satyanarayana for safe custody on the basis of the earlier inspection, was found available in the shop and it was further found that there was shortage of rice, broken rice and boiled ravva in the seized stock. On suspicion that the petitioner indulged in misuse of the seized stock by surreptitiously dealing with them, the inspecting officials have again seized the said stock under mediators’ report. The petitioner has questioned the earlier order dated 31.08.2010, which was the subject matter of Writ Petition No.23633 of 2010 and also the subsequent seizure. Having heard the learned counsel for the petitioner, the learned Assistant Government Pleader for Civil Supplies and perused the record, I am of the opinion that the prayer for setting aside order dated 31.08.2010 cannot be maintained because the said order was the subject matter of order dated 24.09.2010 in Writ Petition No.23633 of 2010. Therefore, a second Writ Petition cannot be maintained in order to question the said order. As regards the second part of the relief, namely; to declare the seizure on 19.10.2010 as illegal, as proceedings under Section 6A of the Act are pending and this Court has already directed stay of sale of the stocks, which were earlier seized, there is no need for a further order. Even if the petitioner was not misusing the stock, as alleged against him, he would not have been entitled to deal with the seized stock during the pendency of the proceedings under Section 6A of the Act. Therefore, he cannot be in a better position than what he would have been, but for the second seizure. In this view of the mater, I do not find any merit in this Writ Petition, which is accordingly dismissed with an observation that the stock, which is seized for the second time, is part of the stock, which was seized on 30.07.2010, shall be allowed to remain in the safe custody till disposal of the proceedings under Section 6A of the Act. ____________________________ C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY, J Date: 27.12.2010 ES