HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE NOUSHAD ALI Writ Petition No.18284 of 2011 Date: 19-7-2011 Between M.Kumar … Petitioner and The District Collector, Ranga Reddy district, At 177, Lakdi ka pul, Khairtabad, Hyderabad and 2 others … Respondents HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE NOUSHAD ALI Writ Petition No.18284 of 2011 Order: The petitioner was provisionally appointed as a fair price shop dealer in respect of the shop at Thulekurd village of Yacharam Mandal under the orders in Proc.No.C/357/2010, dated 05-6-2010, of the Special Grade Deputy Collector & Revenue Divisional Officer, Ranga Reddy East Division. The Tahsildar, Yacharam Mandal thereafter submitted a report dated 12-7-2010, inter alia, stating that the father of the petitioner is working as an Attender in the Social Welfare Office at Ibrahimpatnam and he is residing in the village along with his father and two brothers. It was also reported that a criminal case in Crime No.42 of 2009 registered for the offences under Sections 448, 427 and 323 read with Section 34 of IPC is pending in the court of the IV Metropolitan Magistrate, Ibrahimpatnam, Ranga Reddy district. Inasmuch as the appointment was only provisional subject to verification of the antecedents and since a report has been obtained to the above effect, the 3rd respondent cancelled the authorization by means of the orders dated 30-9-2010. The petitioner unsuccessfully challenged the said order by filing an appeal and a revision petition before the respondents 1 and 2. Aggrieved by the said orders, the petitioner has filed the present writ petition. 2. Sri Bollam Lingaiah Yadav, learned counsel for the petitioner, contends that the petitioner has not suffered any conviction under the provisions of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. He submits that Crime No.42 of 2009 is still pending and the same has not ended in conviction. He further submits that even though the father of the petitioner is working as an Attender in the Social Welfare Department, the same cannot be construed as disqualification. According to the petitioner, Clause 12(iii) of the orders of the State Government issued in G.O.Ms.No.52, dated 18-12-2008, prohibits only those persons who are closely related to the employees working in the Civil Supplies Department or Revenue Department or the Civil Supplies Corporation or Village Administrative Officer of the village. As the father of the petitioner is not an employee of the said Departments, the said prohibition is not liable to be invoked against the petitioner. 3. Insofar as the pendency of the First Information Report in Crime No.42 of 2009, it may be true that the same has not ended in any conviction. Therefore, in my opinion, the same may not be a relevant ground for canceling the authorization. However, admittedly the father of the petitioner is working as an Attender in the Social Welfare Department of the State Government. 4. Clause 12(iii) of G.O.Ms.No.52 CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND CIVIL SUPPLIES (CS.I) DEPARTMENT, dated 18-12-2008, which is invoked against the petitioner is as follows: “12(iii):- Close relatives of Government employees specially those working in Civil Supplies Department or Revenue Department or the Civil Supplies Corporation or Village Administrative Officer of the village shall not be appointed as F.P. shop dealers.” 5. A plain reading of the aforesaid clause unequivocally shows that relatives of a Government Servant, irrespective of the Department, are ineligible to be appointed as fair price shop dealers, more emphatically those working in Civil Supplies Department, Revenue Department, Civil Supplies Corporation and Village Administrative Officer. Therefore, the said provision cannot be construed as confined only to those who are related to the Government employees of the said Departments. In this view of the matter, the contention of the petitioner that his father is not an employee of the said Departments is not tenable. 6. For the aforesaid reasons, the impugned order does not suffer from any illegality or infirmity and hence, the writ petition is devoid of merits and is accordingly dismissed, at the stage of admission. No costs. ___________________ NOUSHAD ALI, J. 19th July, 2011. Ak HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE NOUSHAD ALI Writ Petition No.18284 of 2011 19th July, 2011. (Ak)