IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction) MONDAY, THE TWENTY FIRST DAY OF APRIL TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT PRESENT THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE V.ESWARAIAH WRIT PETITION No.13476 of 2004 Between: M/s. Sai Ganesh Wines, Rep by its Licencee, B. Prabhakar Reddy, S/, Ram Reddy, aged 33 years, Occ : Business, R/o. Tellapur Village, Ramchandrapur Mandl, Medak District. ..... PETITIONER AND 1 The Superintendent, Prohibition & Excise, Medak District. 2 The Inspector, Prohibition & Excise, S.H.O., Patancheru, Ranga Reddy District. .....RESPONDENTS Petition under Article 226 of the constitution of India praying that in the circumstances stated in the Affidavit filed herein the High Court may be pleased to issue an appropriate writ, order or direction, more particularly one in the nature of Writ of Mandamus : i) declaring the action of the Respondent authorities in insisting upon the petitioner to pay annual licence fee of Rs. 8,25,000/- as arbitrary, illegal and violative of the articles 14 & 21 of the constitution of India and contrary to the A.P. Indian Liquor and Foreign Liquor Rules, 1970; ii) direct the respondent authorities to permit the petitioner to run the retail shop bearing Licence No. 214/98-99, dated 16-4-16998, for the year 2004-05 by renewing the licence under IL-24 on payment of Rs, 10,000/-. Counsel for the Petitioner:MR.A.SUDERSHAN REDDY Counsel for the Respondent No.: GP FOR PROHIBITION & EXCISE The Court made the following : THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE V.ESWARAIAH WRIT PETITION No.13476 of 2004 ORDER: Petitioner filed this writ petition seeking a Writ of Mandamus declaring the action of the respondents in insisting upon the petitioner to pay annual licence fee of Rs.8,25,000/- as arbitrary and illegal and consequently to direct the respondents to permit the petitioner to run the retail shop bearing licence No.214/98-99, dated 16-04-1998, for the year 2004-05 by renewing the licence under IL 24 on payment of Rs.10,000/-. The main grievance of the petitioner is that he obtained licence for IL- 24 shop which is situated in Tellapur village of Ramachandrapur Mandal, Medak District, and that though the same is situated beyond one kilometre of Municipal area of Serilingampally Municipality, the respondents are insisting upon the petitioner for payment of Rs.2,75,000/- towards 1/3rd of the licence fee for the shop on the ground that it is existing within one kilometre of Municipal area of Serilingampally Municipality. A counter has been filed on behalf of respondents 1 and 2 stating that the shop of the petitioner is situated in Tellapur Village of Ramachandrapur Mandal, within one kilometre from the periphery of Serilingampally Municipality and during the year 2000-01, the annual licence fee was Rs.2,50,000/- and that as per G.O.Ms.No.389 Revenue (Ex.II) Department, dated 13-03-2003, the Government have decided to increase the belt area of IL 24 shops from the existing one kilometre to two kilometres and therefore, the shop of the petitioner comes under slab rate of Rs.8,25,000/- per annum. It is also stated that the petitioner got renewed the licence for the year 2003- 04 by paying Rs.8,25,000/-. Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, I am of the opinion that the petitioner having paid Rs.8,25,000/- towards licence fee for the year 2003-04 and getting it renewed, now he cannot challenge the impugned order. Further, as per the aforesaid Government Order, the slab rate applicable to IL 24 shops which exist within two kilometers from the periphery of Municipal area is Rs.8,25,000/-. Admittedly, the shop of the petitioner exists within two kilometres from the periphery of the Municipal area. Therefore, I am of the opinion that the petitioner is not entitled for any relief as sought for in the writ petition. Accordingly, the writ petition is dismissed. There shall be no order as to costs. ___________ 21-04-2008 Prv ..... REGISTRAR // TRUE COPY // SECTION OFFICER To 1.2CCs to 2.2CD copies Form-NIC-OGS/WP{RLD}