HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR WRIT PETITION No.25239 of 2008 Date: March 08, 2011 Between: Palle Peeraiah … Petitioner And 1. The Collector (Civil Supplies), Warangal & 2 others. … Respondents * * * HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE SANJAY KUMAR WRIT PETITION No.25239 of 2008 ORDER: The fair price shop dealer of Ravigudem village, Dornakal Mandal, Warangal District, the petitioner herein, assails the Notification dated 05.11.2008 issued by the Civil Supplies authorities calling for applications for grant of the dealership of the fair price shop at Dhanya Thanda in Ravigudem village, Dornakal Mandal, Warangal District, on the ground that the same is contrary to G.O.Ms.No.35, Consumer Affairs, Food & Civil Supplies (CS-1) Department, dated 17.9.2007. 2. This Court, by order dated 17.11.2008, permitted the process as notified under the advertisement dated 05.11.2008 to go on, but directed that no appointment should be made until further orders. 3. W.V.M.P. No.614 of 2011 is filed by the respondent-Civil Supplies authorities to vacate the said order. With the consent of the counsel, the main writ petition is taken up for disposal. 4. The main ground of attack of the petitioner against the impugned Notification dated 05.11.2008 is that the same is not in keeping with the provisions of G.O.Ms.No.35 dated 17.9.2007. Sri A. Ravinder, learned counsel for the petitioner, pointed out that as per clause 5 of the said G.O, rationalization of existing fair price shops in the State was ordered by attaching the required number of cards to each shop for the convenience of the cardholder and keeping in view the economic viability of the fair price shop. The instructions with regard to rationalization of fair price shops were to be scrupulously followed and in so far as rural areas are concerned, the number of iris based ration cards to be attached to each fair price shop was fixed at 400 to 450 BPL and 50 Pink cards. Clause 6 (v) of the said G.O. states to the effect that each Gram Panchayat (village) should have at least one fair price shop with a minimum of 400 BPL cards and 50 APL cards and in case there are more number of cards in excess of the minimum number of cards in a village, there could be two fair price shops, provided the total number of BPL cards in that village is not less than 600. The petitioner stated that he was provided 431 BPL cards and 45 APL cards and therefore the conditions stipulated in G.O.Ms.No.35 dated 17.9.2007 were not satisfied for establishing a second fair price shop in the village. 5. In the counter filed on behalf of the respondents, the Revenue Divisional Officer, Mahabubabad, Warangal District, the second respondent, mounted an attack against the petitioner alleging that his functioning as a fair price shop dealer was irregular. Pertinent to note, this aspect does not fall for consideration in this writ petition. In the event the authorities are dissatisfied with the functioning of the petitioner as a fair price shop dealer, they would have to necessarily initiate action in that regard independently and cannot raise the same in the present writ petition to support their establishing a second fair price shop in the village. Leaving aside this aspect, it is admitted in the counter that the petitioner’s fair price shop was attached with only 478 BPL cards. The ground for establishing a second fair price shop in the village is stated to be the distance between the three Thandas located in the Gram Panchayat. The same is cited as justification for the proposal to establish a new fair price shop at Dhanya Thanda in the village. 6. Needless to state, once the Government put in place instructions which were to be scrupulously followed by the Civil Supplies authorities while rationalising the structure of fair price shops, and a minimum number of cards were stipulated therein for attachment to each fair price shop keeping in view its economic viability, it would not be open to the Civil Supplies authorities to deviate from the same. Be it for whatever reason, once G.O.Ms. No.35 dated 17.9.2007 stipulated that a second fair price shop would not be established in a gram panchayat unless the total number of BPL cards in the village exceeded 600, it would not be open to the respondent authorities to seek to establish a second fair price shop in a Gram Panchayat, which has less than the stipulated number of cards. The Notification dated 05.11.2008 in so far as it pertained to the proposed fair price shop at Dhanya Thanda, Ravigudem village, Dornakal Mandal, Warangal District is therefore violative of the conditions stipulated in G.O.Ms. No.35 dated 17.9.2007 and cannot be sustained. 7. The writ petition is accordingly allowed setting aside the impugned Notification dated 05.11.2008 to the extent indicated above. In the circumstances, no order as to costs. ____________________ SANJAY KUMAR, J Date: March 08, 2011. BSB