HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE ASHUTOSH MOHUNTA WRIT PETITION No. 16335 OF 2008. DATED 29th November, 2010. BETWEEN Ananthula Shankar Lingam …Petitioner And The State of Andhra Pradesh, Rep. by the Joint Collector (CS) Karimnagar, Karimnagar District and ors. ….Respondents. HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE ASHUTOSH MOHUNTA WRIT PETITION No. 16335 OF 2008. ORDER: The petitioner has prayed for issuance of a declaration that the issuance of the proceedings dated 24.7.2008 by the second respondent-Revenue Divisional Officer, Peddapally, Karimanagar District are illegal, arbitrary, unreasonable and in gross violation of the principles of natural justice. The petitioner was appointed as a Fair Price Shop Dealer of Shop No. 4356 of Godavarikhani Town,Ramagundam Mandal, Karimangar District. The Deputy Tahsildar (CS), Peddpally reported on the basis of the inspection conducted by him that the petitioner has stored 17 bags of PDS rice unauthorisedly with a malafide intention to divert the same into black market. Based on the same, a show cause notice dated 8.5.2008 was served on the petitioner on 17.5.2008 as to why Fair price Shop authorization should not be suspended for contravention of the condition Nos. 11 and 13 of authorization. The petitioner submitted his explanation on 22.5.2008. Dissatisfied with the explanation submitted by the petitioner, the Revenue Divisional Officer suspended the authorization of the petitioner on 31.5.2008. Questioning the same, the petitioner earlier filed Writ Petition No. 15437 of 2008 and this Court by order dated 18.7.2008 allowed the said Writ Petition, setting aside the order dated 31.5.2008, with liberty to conduct fresh enquiry. Thereafter, the inspecting Officer and the petitioner were called upon for hearing on 21.7.2008 for further course of enquiry. After completion of the enquiry as ordered by this Court, the Revenue Divisional Officer by order dated 24.7.2008 found the petitioner guilty for the contravention of Clauses 21(1)(c) and 4 of Annexure-1 of A.P. State Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2008 and condition No. 14 of the Authorization, and cancelled the authorization of the petitioner by order dated 24.7.2008. Challenging the said cancellation, the present Writ Petition is filed. The learned Government Pleader for the respondents has raised preliminary objection stating that against the impugned order dated 24.7.2008 passed by the Revenue Divisional Officer, the petitioner has alternative and efficacious remedy of filing the appeal before the first respondent-Joint Collector (CS), Karimnagar. The learned Counsel for the petitioner submitted that the impugned order passed by the respondent authorities is in gross violation of the principles of natural justice and hence the same is not sustainable in law. After hearing the parties, it is clear that the order dated 24.7.2008 passed by the second respondent is appealable. Therefore, the petitioner is given liberty to file appeal against the order dated 24.7.2008 within a period of one month from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. If such an appeal is filed, the lower appellate authority shall consider the limitation in filing the appeal sympathetically and dispose of the appeal, on merits, within a period of two weeks from the date of filing of the appeal. Till the appeal filed by him is disposed of, the petitioner shall be allowed to run the Fair Price Shop. Accordingly the Writ Petition is disposed of. There shall be no order as to costs. --------------------------------------------- JUSTICE ASHUTOSH MOHUNTA Date: 29.11.2010 Msnro