HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY W.P.No.22698 of 2010 Date : 4-10-2010 Between : P.Narayana Rao s/o.late Seshagiri Rao .. Petitioner And The Collector & District Magistrate, Ongole, Prakasam District and another .. Respondents Counsel for petitioner : Sri M.Subba Reddy Counsel for respondents : Assistant Government Pleader for Civil Supplies The Court made the following : HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY W.P.No.22698 of 2010 ORDER: The petitioner who is a wholesale dealer in H.P.C. Kerosene, filed the present Writ Petition for a mandamus to declare that respondent No.2 is not competent to dispose of the proceedings under Section 6-A of Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (for short “the Act”). This plea of the petitioner is based on Memo No.1329/CS.I(i)/98 dated 18-5- 1998, which reads as under : “In the Government Memo cited, orders were issued that the Collectors might authorize the Joint Collectors under Section 2(ii) (a) of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 to deal with the cases where the value of property seized and proposed to be confiscated exceeds Rs.1 lakh. The Government have reconsidered the matter, keeping in view the present value of commodities and properties. In modification of the orders issued in the reference cited, Government hereby order that cases under Section 6-A of the E.C. Act shall be dealt with by the District Collectors if the value of commodity and property seized is Rs.5 lakhs and above and there shall be no delegation of powers of the District Collector to the Joint Collector in such cases. In respect of cases where the value of commodity and property seized in between Rs.1 lakh and Rs.5 lakhs, the powers to dispose of cases under Section 6- A of the E.C. Act may be delegated to the Joint Collectors, if the District Collector is of the opinion that such delegation will expedite disposal of the cases under Section 6-A of the E.C. Act. If the District Collector is of the opinion that delegation of powers to the Joint Collectors even in respect of cases where the value of commodity and property is between Rs.1 lakh and 5 lakhs is not necessary such cases also can be heard and disposed of by the Collector. Receipt of this Government Memo may be acknowledged.” (Emphasis added) Show cause notice dated 29-5-2010 issued by respondent No.1 has valued the total value of the P.D.S. kerosene seized at Rs.2,72,941/- excluding the value of the oil tanker. The learned Assistant Government Pleader for Civil Supplies has not disputed that the value of the seized kerosene oil and the tanker, or double the value of the kerosene oil, in the event of option being exercised by the owner of the tanker to pay the value of the seized stock in lieu of confiscation of the tanker, will exceed Rs.5 lakhs. In the face of the above reproduced Memo, respondent No.2 is denuded of jurisdiction to decide the present case where the value of the seized commodity along with the property i.e., tanker, has exceeded the maximum limit prescribed for respondent No.2. In this view of the matter, the Writ Petition is allowed with directions to respondent No.1 to withdraw the proceedings from respondent No.2 and dispose of himself the proceedings under Section 6-A of the Act. As a sequel to disposal of the Writ Petition, WPMP No.28953/2010 is disposed of as infructuous. ___________________________ C.V. NAGARJUNA REDDY.,J Date : 4-10-2010 AM